GTA 6 preloading opens on Tuesday, November 10: at midnight in your own time zone on PS5, and at one moment worldwide, 12 a.m. GMT, on Xbox Series X|S. That makes the Xbox start Monday evening, November 9, across the Americas (4 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. ET), and Tuesday morning or midday in Asia and Australia.
Confirmed Rockstar gave both times in its November 3 Newswire post, and Sony repeated the PS5 time on the PlayStation Blog: pre-download “starting at November 10 local midnight”. Preloading only gets the files onto your console. The game still unlocks on November 19.
PlayStation 5
Tuesday, November 10
00:00
Midnight in your own time zone
Xbox Series X|S
Tuesday, November 10
00:00 GMT
The same moment worldwide
- Nov 10Digital preload opensUp to 212 GB
- Nov 12Boxed copies in storesDownload code, no disc
- Nov 19GTA 6 launchesUnlock time not announced
Which console opens first where you live
The two consoles follow different clocks, so the gap between them depends on your time zone:
- West of the UK (the Americas): Xbox opens first, on the evening of November 9. PS5 follows at midnight.
- UK, Ireland and Portugal: both open at the same moment, midnight going into November 10.
- East of the UK (Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand): PS5 opens first, at midnight. Xbox follows later on November 10.
PS5 preloading rolls around the world one time zone at a time. Of the places we cover, New Zealand reaches midnight first, at 11:00 UTC on November 9, and Hawaii last, at 10:00 UTC on November 10. By 19:00 UTC on November 9, midnight on November 10 has already arrived in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and India, which is when Rockstar said PS5 preloading would open there.
GTA 6 preload times by country
The PS5 column is the same everywhere: midnight on Tuesday, November 10, local time. The Xbox column is 12 a.m. GMT on November 10 converted to each place’s local time on that date, with daylight saving already ended in North America and Europe and running in New Zealand, Chile and southeast Australia. Each country links to its GTA 6 release time page.
| Where | Xbox preload opens (local time) | Compared with PS5 |
|---|---|---|
| United States, Eastern (New York) | Mon, Nov 9, 7 p.m. | Xbox 5 hours earlier |
| United States, Central (Chicago) | Mon, Nov 9, 6 p.m. | Xbox 6 hours earlier |
| United States, Mountain (Denver, Phoenix) | Mon, Nov 9, 5 p.m. | Xbox 7 hours earlier |
| United States, Pacific (Los Angeles) | Mon, Nov 9, 4 p.m. | Xbox 8 hours earlier |
| United States, Alaska (Anchorage) | Mon, Nov 9, 3 p.m. | Xbox 9 hours earlier |
| United States, Hawaii (Honolulu) | Mon, Nov 9, 2 p.m. | Xbox 10 hours earlier |
| Canada, Newfoundland (St. John’s) | Mon, Nov 9, 8:30 p.m. | Xbox 3.5 hours earlier |
| Canada, Atlantic (Halifax) | Mon, Nov 9, 8 p.m. | Xbox 4 hours earlier |
| Canada, Eastern and Central (Toronto, Winnipeg) | Mon, Nov 9, 7 p.m. | Xbox 5 hours earlier |
| Canada, Mountain (Edmonton) | Mon, Nov 9, 6 p.m. | Xbox 6 hours earlier |
| Canada, Pacific (Vancouver) | Mon, Nov 9, 5 p.m. | Xbox 7 hours earlier |
| Mexico, Central (Mexico City) | Mon, Nov 9, 6 p.m. | Xbox 6 hours earlier |
| Brazil, Brasília (São Paulo, Rio) | Mon, Nov 9, 9 p.m. | Xbox 3 hours earlier |
| Argentina (Buenos Aires) | Mon, Nov 9, 9 p.m. | Xbox 3 hours earlier |
| Chile (Santiago) | Mon, Nov 9, 9 p.m. | Xbox 3 hours earlier |
| Colombia (Bogotá) | Mon, Nov 9, 7 p.m. | Xbox 5 hours earlier |
| United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal | Tue, Nov 10, 12 a.m. | Same moment |
| Spain (Madrid), France, Belgium, Netherlands | Tue, Nov 10, 1 a.m. | PS5 1 hour earlier |
| Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Poland | Tue, Nov 10, 1 a.m. | PS5 1 hour earlier |
| Denmark, Norway, Sweden | Tue, Nov 10, 1 a.m. | PS5 1 hour earlier |
| Finland (Helsinki), South Africa (Johannesburg) | Tue, Nov 10, 2 a.m. | PS5 2 hours earlier |
| Türkiye (Istanbul), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | Tue, Nov 10, 3 a.m. | PS5 3 hours earlier |
| United Arab Emirates (Dubai) | Tue, Nov 10, 4 a.m. | PS5 4 hours earlier |
| India | Tue, Nov 10, 5:30 a.m. | PS5 5.5 hours earlier |
| Singapore, Philippines (Manila) | Tue, Nov 10, 8 a.m. | PS5 8 hours earlier |
| Japan (Tokyo), South Korea (Seoul) | Tue, Nov 10, 9 a.m. | PS5 9 hours earlier |
| Australia, Perth | Tue, Nov 10, 8 a.m. | PS5 8 hours earlier |
| Australia, Brisbane | Tue, Nov 10, 10 a.m. | PS5 10 hours earlier |
| Australia, Adelaide | Tue, Nov 10, 10:30 a.m. | PS5 10.5 hours earlier |
| Australia, Sydney and Melbourne | Tue, Nov 10, 11 a.m. | PS5 11 hours earlier |
| New Zealand (Auckland) | Tue, Nov 10, 1 p.m. | PS5 13 hours earlier |
The Spanish Canary Islands are on GMT, like the UK, so both consoles open there at the same moment.
Get ready before your time comes up
- Make room. Sony asks PS5 owners to clear at least 212 GB, and Kotaku reports Rockstar’s figure for the preload as 212 GB. Our file size guide and free up space guide help if it won’t fit.
- Sign in with the account that bought the game. Only that account sees the preload.
- Leave the console able to download while it’s off. PlayStation Support says a preordered game needs Stay Connected to the Internet turned on in rest mode to be ready at release. The Xbox setting is in our preload and download guide.
Analysis You don’t need to stay up. A console left in rest mode or Sleep picks up the preload on its own once it opens, so an early night costs you nothing.
Boxed copies come later
Boxed copies hold a download code instead of a disc. Kotaku reports that Rockstar’s code-in-box copies become available from November 12, so boxed buyers start two days after digital ones. See what to do when your boxed copy arrives.
Common questions
Can I play GTA 6 once the preload finishes?
No. Preloading only downloads the game. It stays locked until November 19; our release time page has the unlock time for your country once Rockstar confirms one.
Why does Xbox open on November 9 in the US?
Because Rockstar set one worldwide moment for Xbox, 12 a.m. GMT on November 10, and that moment falls on Monday afternoon or evening across the Americas.
Where are the console steps?
Our preload and download guide walks through PS5 and Xbox, with fixes if the download doesn’t start. Everything else this month is on the launch week calendar.
Sources
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