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Days
Grand Theft Auto VI unlocks at midnight local time on Thursday, November 19, 2026 — rolling region by region, New Zealand first.
Countdown targets midnight in your time zone. First unlock worldwide: Auckland, New Zealand — Nov 18, 11:00 UTC.
| City | Local unlock | UTC | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland, New Zealand | Thu Nov 19 · 12:00 AM NZDT | Nov 18 · 11:00 | — |
| Tokyo, Japan | Thu Nov 19 · 12:00 AM JST | Nov 18 · 15:00 | — |
| Hong Kong | Thu Nov 19 · 12:00 AM HKT | Nov 18 · 16:00 | — |
| London, United Kingdom | Thu Nov 19 · 12:00 AM GMT | Nov 19 · 00:00 | — |
| New York, United States | Thu Nov 19 · 12:00 AM EST | Nov 19 · 05:00 | — |
| Los Angeles, United States | Wed Nov 18 · 9:00 PM PST | Nov 19 · 05:00 | — |
Per Rockstar Support, the game unlocks at midnight local time in every region on both consoles. Console store listings keep one unlock time per country — the whole US goes live at midnight Eastern (9:00 PM Pacific). Always confirm the timer on your own console store.
November 19, 2026 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only — no PS4 version. The game targets 30 fps on all consoles, including PS5 Pro. Xbox Cloud Gaming follows at 1:00 AM ET on launch day, Xbox One included.
Pre-loading opened on November 10 for digital pre-orders. Make room: the download needs up to 212 GB of free space, per Rockstar. A pre-launch update (1.002.000) began rolling out on November 13.
GTA VI is a digital-only launch. Boxed copies contain a download code, not a disc — redeem the code and pre-load like everyone else.
Standard Edition $79.99 / £69.99 · Ultimate Edition $99.99 / £89.99 (digital only). The Ultimate upgrade is sold separately for $20 and can be bought at any time — no need to decide before launch. Buying before Nov 20 adds the Vintage Vice City Pack; digital pre-orders also include one month of GTA+.
Sony and Microsoft both confirm GTA VI is the most pre-ordered game in the history of their stores. Analytics firm Sensor Tower estimates digital pre-orders passed $1 billion at an average of roughly $97 per copy (third-party estimate — Take-Two has not published official totals).
Not announced. Rockstar has given no PC date. GamesBeat reported on Oct 13, 2026 that four industry insiders point to a Q1 2027 window — unconfirmed reporting, not an official date.
Update 1.002.000 starts rolling out to players who pre-loaded — about 1.07 GB on PS5 and 2.18 GB on Xbox Series X|S, reportedly mandatory before you can play. Rockstar has published no patch notes so far.
Sensor Tower's latest estimate puts digital pre-orders at roughly 12.1 million copies and $1.18 billion in revenue, with PS5 accounting for about 75% of purchases. Estimates only — no official totals exist.
The 212 GB pre-load was so heavy it broke broadband records in the UK and Ireland — Virgin Media O2 reported network traffic jumping over 50% in the hour after pre-loads began.
Sensor Tower estimates GTA VI pre-orders crossed $1 billion — already more than GTA V made in its entire first day on sale back in 2013, with a week still to go before launch.
Wall Street analysts at BMO Capital Markets and Raymond James project 45–55 million copies sold by the end of March 2027, at a blended average price near $90.
PlayStation confirms GTA VI is the most pre-ordered game in PlayStation Store history — and Xbox says the same for the Microsoft Store. A new trailer dropped the same day.
Digital pre-loading opens worldwide: midnight local time on PS5, 12:00 AM GMT on Xbox. Files stay locked until your region's midnight on November 19 — downloading early does not mean playing early.
The Miami Heat host "A Night in Vice City" on November 18, the eve of launch — the game's fictional Miami is taking over the real one.
"GTA 6: The Festival" — an official fan event at Mana Wynwood, Miami, two days after launch, with a headline music lineup.
Circana's PlayerPulse puts GTA VI purchase intent at 29% among US console and PC gamers — the highest level the firm has ever recorded for a video game.