By GTA 6 pre-load is open. New Zealand went first, at midnight local time on November 10, which was 11:00 UTC on November 9, and from there the PS5 rollout is moving west one time zone at a time. Xbox Series X|S didn’t wait for anyone: it opened everywhere at once at 12 a.m. GMT on November 10, just as Rockstar announced on November 3. The first download screens from New Zealand show 209.8 GB on PS5, a little under the “up to 212 GB” Rockstar promised. The game itself still unlocks on November 19.
When pre-load opens in your region
Rockstar gave one rule for PlayStation: midnight local time on November 10. Below is what that rule gives for the main regions, worked out the same way as our release time guide, where the PlayStation Store timestamps put the launch at local midnight of each store region. The schedule matches it hour for hour, just nine days earlier.
| Region | PS5 pre-load, local time | In UTC |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 11:00 UTC, Nov 9 |
| Australia (Sydney) | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 13:00 UTC, Nov 9 |
| Japan / South Korea | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 15:00 UTC, Nov 9 |
| India | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 18:30 UTC, Nov 9 |
| Turkey | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 21:00 UTC, Nov 9 |
| Central Europe (Berlin, Paris) | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 23:00 UTC, Nov 9 |
| UK | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 00:00 UTC, Nov 10 |
| Brazil (São Paulo) | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 03:00 UTC, Nov 10 |
| US East (New York, Miami) | 12:00 AM, Nov 10 | 05:00 UTC, Nov 10 |
| Xbox Series X|S, worldwide | 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT, Nov 9 | 00:00 UTC, Nov 10 |
So the US is one of the last big markets on PlayStation and the first one on Xbox. If you play on Xbox in Los Angeles, your download could start in the afternoon of November 9; a PS5 next to it waits until the store flips to the 10th. The rules behind the two clocks, boxed copies and the rest of the announcement are in our pre-load news from November 8.
209.8 GB on the download screen
The number comes straight from the PS5 download screen, captured as the first pre-loads unlocked in New Zealand and reported by GTA BOOM and KeenGamer. That’s what actually comes down the wire. Rockstar’s 212 GB was always a ceiling “depending on your device”, and the two figures sit close enough that I’d read them as the same thing: the download, and the room the game takes once it’s unpacked on the drive.
As a technical artist I’m almost relieved. Years of watching texture packs swell made me expect something uglier for a whole state at this level of detail. Still, don’t plan around 209.8. A day-one patch is coming on top, and the console needs free space while it writes files, so clear more than the download screen asks for. How much, and on which drives, is on our storage and SSD page.
What to do right now
- Check that your region is open. Pre-ordered digital copies show up in the game library with a Download button. If yours isn’t there, look at the table: your midnight probably hasn’t come yet.
- Free up space first. A download that stops at 90 percent because the drive is full is the worst way to spend launch week.
- Turn on automatic downloads and leave the console in Rest Mode overnight. The exact menu path for PS5 and Xbox is on our pre-load page.
- Bought a box? Physical editions are code-in-box and reach shops from November 12. The same 209.8 GB still comes over the internet, so redeem the code the day you get it.
Pre-loading only puts the files on your drive. Nothing unlocks before your region’s launch time on November 19, so there’s no prize for downloading first, only nine quiet nights of not worrying about it. I’m setting mine tonight, and then the countdown is just a clock on the wall.
FAQ
Is GTA 6 pre-load live now?
Yes. On PS5 it opened in New Zealand at 11:00 UTC on November 9 and moves west at local midnight on November 10 in each region. On Xbox Series X|S it opened worldwide at 12 a.m. GMT on November 10.
How big is the GTA 6 pre-load download on PS5?
The PS5 download screen in New Zealand shows 209.8 GB. Rockstar’s official figure is up to 212 GB depending on the console, and a day-one patch will add more.
When does GTA 6 pre-load start in the US?
On PS5, at midnight Eastern on November 10, which is 05:00 UTC. On Xbox Series X|S it already started at 7 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. PT on November 9.