GTA 6 unlocks at midnight on Thursday 19 November in each PlayStation and Xbox store region. If you’ve pre-loaded, that’s the moment you can start playing. Rockstar has confirmed the date but hasn’t announced an hour, so the times below come from the store listings. They match what PlayStation Store pages show today, but Sony, Microsoft or Rockstar could still change them before launch.
GTA 6 unlock times by region
| Where | Local unlock time | UTC |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 11:00, Wed 18 Nov |
| Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart) | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 13:00, Wed 18 Nov |
| Australia (Brisbane) | 11:00pm, Wed 18 Nov | 13:00, Wed 18 Nov |
| Australia (Adelaide) | 11:30pm, Wed 18 Nov | 13:00, Wed 18 Nov |
| Australia (Perth) | 9:00pm, Wed 18 Nov | 13:00, Wed 18 Nov |
| Japan and South Korea | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 15:00, Wed 18 Nov |
| India | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 18:30, Wed 18 Nov |
| UAE | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 20:00, Wed 18 Nov |
| Central Europe (Rome, Paris, Berlin, Madrid) | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 23:00, Wed 18 Nov |
| UK and Ireland | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 00:00, Thu 19 Nov |
| Brazil (Brasília time) | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 03:00, Thu 19 Nov |
| US and Canada (Eastern) | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 05:00, Thu 19 Nov |
| US and Canada (Central) | 11:00pm, Wed 18 Nov | 05:00, Thu 19 Nov |
| US and Canada (Mountain) | 10:00pm, Wed 18 Nov | 05:00, Thu 19 Nov |
| US and Canada (Pacific) | 9:00pm, Wed 18 Nov | 05:00, Thu 19 Nov |
| Mexico (Mexico City) | 12:00am, Thu 19 Nov | 06:00, Thu 19 Nov |
New Zealand goes first and Mexico goes last, about 19 hours apart. All times account for daylight saving: the US and Canada will be back on standard time, while New Zealand and south-eastern Australia will be on summer time.
Why some players get it the evening before
Each store region unlocks once, at midnight in that region’s main time zone. Most countries only have one time zone, so it’s midnight for everyone. Three big ones don’t. The US and Canadian stores run on Eastern time, so players further west get the game on Wednesday evening: 9pm in Los Angeles or Vancouver. Australia’s store runs on Sydney time, which gives Perth a 9pm start on Wednesday.
When pre-load starts
Rockstar Support says digital pre-orders can start pre-loading at local midnight on Thursday 12 November, a week before launch. Pre-loading only downloads the game; it stays locked until your region’s unlock time. Our GTA 6 release date and price guide covers what each edition costs and what’s included.
Can you play GTA 6 early?
Not really. The only route is buying the game on a store account set to an earlier region, such as New Zealand. That means paying again in that store’s currency, the game stays tied to that account, and for most of Europe it would only save a few hours.
GTA 6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only. Rockstar hasn’t announced a PC version. If you want a look at the game before then, Rockstar’s 26-minute Extended Look is the most footage released so far; here’s where to watch it.
Unlock times are taken from store listings as of 2 November 2026 and may change before launch.