Comparing GTA V’s Los Santos to 2004’s San Andreas

Reddit user ameromatt posted this map showing a scale comparison of GTA V’s Los Santos to the entire area of San Andreas in 2004’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The difference is impressive.

The new Los Santos dwarfs the original San Andreas, even though it also contained sister cities San Fiero and Las Venturas, plus wilderness to separate them. The new Los Santos is just Los Santos and Blaine County, of course.

I know what you’re thinking, San Andreas sure seemed bigger in your memories. Part of that is the rosy lenses of nostalgia, but a lot is down to clever tricks used by the programmers to hide how compact the maps were. Another Reddit user helpfully provided this picture showing how compact San Andreas could be without the fog, limited draw distance, and other techniques and technical issues that limit your viewpoint.

And finally there’s this video with increased draw distance, which makes it seem almost small.