Rockstar confirms GTA 6 will launch at midnight local time worldwide

Rockstar Games has clarified that the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI will occur at midnight local time in each region, rather than at a single coordinated moment. The company’s announcement aligns with earlier reports that used PlayStation Store data, but adds that release times are tied to specific time zones instead of individual countries. Consequently, players in western North America, for example, will receive the game three hours after those on the east coast.

Digital pre-loads are already available; they began at midnight local time on November 10 for PlayStation users and at midnight GMT for Xbox users. The game requires up to 212 GB of storage, and early downloads are recommended to avoid potential network congestion on launch day.

The announcement also notes that players can access the earliest release by switching their console region to New Zealand, which receives the game first. On Xbox, this change involves a settings adjustment and a console restart, while PlayStation users must purchase the game with a New Zealand account, with no option to transfer it later.

"The GTA 6 entry on PlayStation 5 shows a countdown to the release date, confirming the midnight timing," the article notes.

The rollout will see the game become available at midnight in each time zone, meaning that release windows will span roughly 19 hours globally.