GTA 6 launches on Thursday, November 19, 2026, and the PlayStation Store lists it unlocking at midnight local time rather than at one worldwide moment. Rockstar’s own launch announcement names the day but not the hour, so the times below come from store listings, not from a Rockstar announcement.
GTA 6 release time by country
We read the release timestamp on the PlayStation Store listing for each region on October 31, 2026. A country with more than one time zone gets one timestamp, set to midnight in the store region’s main time zone, so players elsewhere in that country unlock earlier or later on their own clocks.
| Country / store | Unlock (local) | UTC | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 18, 11:00 | Reported |
| Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 18, 13:00 | Reported |
| Japan | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 18, 15:00 | Reported |
| Spain | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 18, 23:00 | Checked |
| Germany | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 18, 23:00 | Checked |
| France | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 18, 23:00 | Checked |
| United Kingdom | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 19, 00:00 | Checked |
| Brazil (BrasÃlia) | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 19, 03:00 | Checked |
| Argentina, Chile | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 19, 03:00 | Reported |
| United States | Nov 19, 00:00 ET (Nov 18: 23:00 CT, 22:00 MT, 21:00 PT) | Nov 19, 05:00 | Checked |
| Canada | Nov 19, 00:00 ET (Nov 18, 21:00 PT) | Nov 19, 05:00 | Checked |
| Colombia | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 19, 05:00 | Reported |
| Mexico (Mexico City) | Nov 19, 00:00 | Nov 19, 06:00 | Checked |
Checked We opened that region’s PlayStation Store listing and read the release timestamp ourselves. Reported Taken from published reports of the store listings and consistent with midnight in that country’s time zone; we have not read the listing directly.
What Rockstar has and has not confirmed
- Confirmed: launch on November 19, 2026 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and preloading from November 12 at local midnight.
- Not announced: an official unlock hour in a Rockstar post. The hour comes from store listings and could still change, so check your own store as launch nears.
Rockstar opened pre-orders the same way: at midnight local time on June 25, 2026. That is consistent with the rolling midnight in the store timestamps, with New Zealand first and Mexico last, about 19 hours later.
Frequently asked questions
What time does GTA 6 come out?
On the PlayStation Store it unlocks at 00:00 on November 19 in each store’s main time zone. In the U.S. that is 12:00 a.m. Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Pacific on November 18.
Does GTA 6 unlock at the same time worldwide?
Store listings point to a rolling local-midnight unlock, not a single global moment.
Do I need to preload to play at launch?
No, but preloading means you can start playing the moment the game unlocks instead of waiting for the download. See our GTA 6 preload guide.
Last checked against official sources and store listings on October 31, 2026. We update this page when Rockstar, Sony or Microsoft publish new details. Image: Rockstar Games.
Sources
- Rockstar Newswire: Grand Theft Auto VI is Now Set to Launch November 19, 2026
- Rockstar Games Customer Support: Grand Theft Auto VI Platforms, Editions, and Versions
- PlayStation Store: Grand Theft Auto VI: Ultimate Edition (US listing)
- PlayStation Store: Grand Theft Auto VI (UK listing)
- PlayStation Store: Grand Theft Auto VI (Spain listing)
- PlayStation Store: Grand Theft Auto VI (Germany listing)
- PlayStation Store: Grand Theft Auto VI (Brazil listing)
- PlayStation Store: Grand Theft Auto VI (Mexico listing)
- IGN: GTA 6 will launch digitally at midnight around the world
Short on time? Swipe through our GTA 6 release time web story.