Grand Theft Auto VI comes out on Thursday, November 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar's support page says it releases at midnight local time in all regions, on both consoles.
That means there's no single worldwide launch moment. The game rolls out time zone by time zone, starting in the Pacific and ending in the Americas.
The short answer
- Release date: Thursday, November 19, 2026.
- Release time: 12:00 AM local time, according to Rockstar.
- First to play: New Zealand, about 13 hours before the UK.
- Pre-load: from November 10, so the game is ready to start the second it unlocks.
When midnight arrives around the world
Here's when midnight on November 19 hits in each region, with the matching time in GMT so you can compare. All of these are the standard winter times that will be in effect that week.
- New Zealand (NZDT): November 18, 11:00 GMT
- Eastern Australia (AEDT): November 18, 13:00 GMT
- Japan and South Korea: November 18, 15:00 GMT
- Thailand and Indonesia (Western): November 18, 17:00 GMT
- India (IST): November 18, 18:30 GMT
- United Arab Emirates: November 18, 20:00 GMT
- Saudi Arabia and Turkey: November 18, 21:00 GMT
- Central Europe (CET): November 18, 23:00 GMT
- UK and Ireland: November 19, 00:00 GMT
- Brazil (Brasília): November 19, 03:00 GMT
- US and Canada Eastern: November 19, 05:00 GMT
- US Central and Mexico City: November 19, 06:00 GMT
- US Mountain: November 19, 07:00 GMT
- US Pacific: November 19, 08:00 GMT
A note for players in the western US and Canada
Rockstar says local midnight, but Kotaku, citing GTAVice.net and Digital Foundry's reading of PlayStation Store data, reports that the whole of the US and Canada unlocks together at midnight Eastern, which would be 9 PM Pacific on November 18. Console stores sometimes group a country or region under one time zone, so this is worth checking.
The easy way to be sure: open the game's page in the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store a day or two before launch. Once you've pre-ordered and pre-loaded, the store shows the exact unlock time for your account.
How to be playing at midnight
- Pre-order the digital version if you want to pre-load. Boxed copies hold a download code, not a disc.
- Pre-load from November 10. PS5 pre-loads start at midnight local time; Xbox pre-loads start at midnight GMT, which is 7 PM Eastern on November 9.
- Clear about 250 GB of space. The download is up to 212 GB, and day-one updates need room too.
- Leave the console in rest mode or instant-on on launch night so it can grab any last-minute update.
- Check the store's countdown the day before for your exact unlock time.
Anything else on launch day?
Rockstar says it will add a free printable cover-art poster and map of Leonida to its official site on November 19. A double-sided printed version will follow shortly after launch in the Rockstar Store.
Will GTA Online be there at launch?
Rockstar hasn't said anything about GTA Online for GTA 6 in its launch details, so plan for the story mode on day one.
Check your console store for the exact time that applies to your account.