Does GTA 6 come with a map? Rockstar's free Leonida map, the 99-cent poster and what's in the box

Grand Theft Auto VI will have an official map of Leonida on paper, but you print it yourself or pay 99 cents for it. Rockstar Games said on Nov. 3 that on launch day, Nov. 19, it will add a printable map of Leonida and the game's cover art poster to the official GTA 6 site as a free download. Soon after launch, the Rockstar Store will sell a double-sided printed version for $0.99, or add it free to any Rockstar Store order.

What Rockstar hasn't said is that a map comes in the box. The boxed version of GTA 6 holds a download code, not a disc, and Rockstar's descriptions of it mention nothing else inside. Photos of boxed copies that reached German stores on Nov. 7 haven't settled the question either.

Every way to get a GTA 6 map

The free download and the 99-cent poster

Rockstar announced the map in its Nov. 3 post, the one that set pre-loading for Nov. 10. The printable files go up on Rockstar's GTA 6 site on Nov. 19, the day the game unlocks, and you don't need to own the game to download them. Rockstar calls the printed version double-sided but hasn't shown it, and it gave no date beyond soon after launch.

The free-gift offer covers orders from the Rockstar Store only. A copy of the game bought from PlayStation, Xbox or a retailer doesn't come with the printed poster, so it's either the download, the 99 cents, or an order from Rockstar's shop for something else. The Rockstar Store sells the Grand Theft Auto VI Collection of clothes and accessories, for instance.

What's in the GTA 6 box

The physical edition is the Standard Edition in a box with a download code. The Rockstar Store says there's no disc, and that you need an internet connection and a PlayStation or Xbox account to download the game. Retailers can sell the boxes from Nov. 12, Rockstar says. Our guide to the boxed copies covers what you can do with one before launch.

Boxes are already in stores. On Nov. 7, someone who said they work at a German store posted photos of a shrink-wrapped PS5 copy on Reddit, TheGamer reported. They couldn't open it, and told commenters they couldn't tell whether a map was inside. The same day, the German chain MediaMarkt showed a boxed copy on Instagram beside a poster of Lucia, Polygon and TheGamer reported. ComicBook described that poster as double-sided, with the cover art and Lucia and no map.

Neither Rockstar nor MediaMarkt has said whether that poster comes in every box, comes from the store, or is the print Rockstar announced. We'll update this page when boxes reach buyers on Nov. 12.

The GameStop sign

The idea of a map in the box started in October with a sign at a GameStop in Pennsylvania that promised pre-order customers a "physical collector's map," Notebookcheck reported on Oct. 12. A couple of fans said their own stores told them the same. But a writer for IGN and ComicBook called five GameStop stores and found staff who knew nothing about it, GTA BOOM reported, and neither Rockstar nor GameStop's head office confirmed it. Rockstar's Nov. 3 post points GTA 6 players to the download and the 99-cent print instead.

Why players expected a map

Rockstar's boxed games have long come with one. Notebookcheck notes that every Grand Theft Auto since the first, in 1997, came with a layout of its world, and GTA BOOM points to the fold-out map in GTA V's special edition and the paper map in Red Dead Redemption 2. GTA 6 is also the first in the series to ship with no disc, as Notebookcheck points out, which leaves little reason to open the box at all.

The one GTA 6 product with a printed map so far is Rockstar's collector's box: its souvenir poster has characters from Leonida's Macca the Gator TV show on the front and the Leonida map on the back. It costs $399.99 and doesn't include the game.

Until launch

Until Rockstar's map arrives, our Leonida map lists every place Rockstar has named so far, region by region, and our map guide covers the six regions and how big Leonida is.