Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is set in the GTA IV Liberty City minus Alderney (New Jersey) in 2009. Just like IV, Liberty City is a down-sized version of New York City. Boroughs include Broker (Brooklyn), Dukes (Queens), Bohan (Bronx), and Algonquin (Manhattan) plus Happiness Island (Liberty Island) complete with statue.

In addition to Alderney missing, the road map was simplified for the game. Most of the roads were made into straight grids that resemble the older top-down games for ease of use. Other parts of roads were omitted completely such as under bridges.