JUST CAUSE 3 MAP ONE OF THE BIGGEST EVER IN GAMING

The setting for Just Cause 3, the fictional island of Medici in the Mediterranean Sea, is over 400 square miles, according to the game's developer Avalanche Studios.

"I think we still have one of the biggest maps ever," said game director Roland Lesterlin. The island will be comprised of 3 major regions. Region 1 is described as a "medley of wealthy and poor towns" with agricultural areas. Region 2 is dotted with military bases and "very poor fishing towns."

Region 3 is a heavily forested, mountainous wilderness region. "It's sort of our Game of Thrones," art director Zach Schlappi said.

The environment for the game grew out of two factors. "We started off thinking about what the gameplay was, who Rico was," Lesterlin said. This led to what he calls a "very vertical" environment. The developers wanted a map that allowed for Rico to get "very quickly into the air," and the Mediterranean setting grew out of that desire for verticality.

Avalanche thought about which locations on Earth have 100 meter cliffs and crystal blue water. Medici is an amalgam of different Mediterranean locations.

As part of the marketing leading up to the release of Just Cause 3, Square Enix is giving away an island to whoever comes out on top of the game's leaderboard after the first 90 days following its release. While the island's location isn't known, if it follows the game's setting, a prize located in the Mediterranean seems possible, but at an estimated value of $50,000 USD, not very likely or nearly as large as Medici.