Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Almost Had a Very Different Map

Two decades after its initial release, it has been revealed that the map in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was almost significantly different from the one players received back in 2004. This interesting piece of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas lore is one few gamers will know about, with one of the developers telling the story first-hand.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is widely considered to be a masterpiece. For many players, it represents not just a high for the Grand Theft Auto franchise, but also remains one of the best open-world games ever made. Compared to its predecessors, Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City, it brought the series forward by leaps and bounds. While 2021’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition may not have received the same positive reception, it would certainly take much more than a sub-par remaster to affect the legacy of the original game.

On October 26, 2024, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas turned 20 years old. To mark the occasion, Obbe Vermeij, who worked as a technical director on the game, told a story on Twitter about how the game’s three cities (Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas) were almost split into separate maps. According to Vermeij, players “would travel between the cities using trains and planes.” Everything was in this decision’s favor – Vermeij listed several reasons as to why it would have been much easier for each city to have its own map, notably the PS2 memory limitations and the ease of naturally constraining the player to one area.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Almost Had Three Separate Maps

Prior to the artists getting to work on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas map, there was one final meeting at Rockstar North that determined the final decision to keep it all constrained to one area. Vermeij didn’t reveal the actual reason for going with one map, but most would be glad they did, given the end result was one of the best open-world maps in gaming. Despite the change, Vermeij did highlight that “We still ended up doing city-specific pickups, police cars and weather,” ending his story with a nostalgic “Happy birthday San Andreas. You turned out all right.”

20 years on, gamers are still excited about the Grand Theft Auto series. Grand Theft Auto 6 is by far the biggest title in the 2025 video game release date calendar, a game players have waited over 11 years for. Rockstar continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in the open-world genre, last seen with Red Dead Redemption 2, and it’s expected to continue this pattern in GTA 6. Hopefully, it isn’t long before Rockstar can give players more than the single trailer that exists for Grand Theft Auto 6.

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Five years ago Carl Johnson escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas — a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs, and corruption. Where film stars and millionaires do their best to avoid the dealers and gangbangers.

Now, it’s the early ’90s. Carl’s got to go home. His mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart and his childhood friends are all heading toward disaster.

On his return to the neighborhood, a couple of corrupt cops frame him for homicide. CJ is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets.

Released

October 26, 2004

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Multiplayer

Local Multiplayer

Engine

RenderWare

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ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs

How Long To Beat

30 Hours

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