GTA 6 release time: when it unlocks in the US, UK, Europe, Brazil and Australia
Rockstar has not announced a launch hour for GTA 6. Store listings show midnight local time on Nov. 19: midnight Eastern in the US, which is 9 p.m. Pacific on Nov. 18 if one time applies nationwide.
Rockstar Games has not announced what time Grand Theft Auto VI unlocks on Nov. 19, 2026. The only times available come from store listing data: PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store listings show midnight local time on Nov. 19 in every country we checked.
In the US, that is midnight Eastern, the moment Thursday, Nov. 19 begins on the East Coast. The US listings carry that single time, so if it applies nationwide, the game unlocks at 9 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Nobody at Rockstar, Sony or Microsoft has said whether it does.
GTA 6 unlock times by region
Each store gives one unlock time per country. These are the times in the listings, with the same moment in UTC:
| Region | Listed unlock time | Same moment in UTC | Listings checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| US (Eastern time) | Midnight, Thursday, Nov. 19 | 05:00, Nov. 19 | PlayStation, Microsoft |
| Canada (Eastern time) | Midnight, Nov. 19 | 05:00, Nov. 19 | PlayStation, Microsoft |
| Mexico (Mexico City) | Midnight, Nov. 19 | 06:00, Nov. 19 | PlayStation, Microsoft |
| Brazil (Brasília) | Midnight, Nov. 19 | 03:00, Nov. 19 | PlayStation, Microsoft |
| UK | Midnight, Nov. 19 | 00:00, Nov. 19 | PlayStation, Microsoft |
| Germany and France (CET) | Midnight, Nov. 19 | 23:00, Nov. 18 | PlayStation, Microsoft |
| Japan | Midnight, Nov. 19 | 15:00, Nov. 18 | Microsoft |
| South Korea | Midnight, Nov. 19 | 15:00, Nov. 18 | PlayStation |
| Australia (Sydney and Melbourne, AEDT) | Midnight, Nov. 19 | 13:00, Nov. 18 | PlayStation, Microsoft |
Where we checked both stores, the PlayStation Store and the Microsoft Store give the same time. Rockstar has not announced an unlock time for any region.
US time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific
The US PlayStation Store and the US Microsoft Store both list one time for the whole country: 05:00 UTC on Nov. 19, which is midnight Eastern. Here is that same moment in each mainland time zone:
| US time zone | The listed time, converted |
|---|---|
| Eastern (ET) | Midnight, Thursday, Nov. 19 |
| Central (CT) | 11 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 18 |
| Mountain (MT) | 10 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 18 |
| Pacific (PT) | 9 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 18 |
The same moment is 8 p.m. in Alaska and 7 p.m. in Hawaii on Nov. 18.
Whether players outside the Eastern time zone actually get the game at those times, or wait for their own local midnight, is an open question. Only Rockstar, Sony or Microsoft can answer it, and none has. The same goes for Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Australia, where the listings also use one time for the whole country. In Australia, the listed moment converts to 11 p.m. on Nov. 18 in Brisbane, 11:30 p.m. in Adelaide, 10:30 p.m. in Darwin and 9 p.m. in Perth.
Pre-load: Nov. 12, no hour announced
Rockstar says players who pre-order digitally "will be able to begin pre-loading on November 12." It has not given a time of day. The PlayStation Store lists the feature as a "7-Day Pre-load." The physical version, a download code in a box with no disc, also goes on sale Nov. 12.
Pre-loading only gets the download done early; the game itself still unlocks on Nov. 19. Our pre-load and Code in Box guide has the details, and the file size is still unannounced.
Launch week at a glance
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Thursday, Nov. 12 | Pre-load opens for digital pre-orders; the Code in Box version goes on sale |
| Wednesday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m. ET | The Miami HEAT play as "Vice City" at Kaseya Center, per the HEAT |
| Thursday, Nov. 19, midnight ET (05:00 UTC) | US store listings unlock GTA 6 |
| Thursday, Nov. 19 | Launch day; Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album also comes out |
The Vintage Vice City Pack pre-order bonus covers purchases "before November 20," Rockstar says; store listings word the cutoff as 23:59:59 on Nov. 19. More on the bonus in our price and editions guide.
Count down to it
Our countdown runs to midnight on Nov. 19 in your own time zone, because Rockstar has not announced a launch hour. If you are in Central, Mountain or Pacific time, the US store listings' time arrives before the countdown ends.
For the date itself, the delays that led to it and the platforms, see our release date guide.
Questions readers ask
- What time does GTA 6 come out?
- Rockstar has not announced a launch hour. PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store listing data shows midnight local time on Nov. 19 in every country we checked, including midnight Eastern in the US, midnight in the UK and midnight CET in Germany.
- What time does GTA 6 unlock on the West Coast?
- That is not confirmed. US store listings give one time, midnight Eastern (05:00 UTC), which is 9 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Rockstar, Sony and Microsoft have not said whether western time zones unlock then or at their own midnight.
- What time does GTA 6 release in the UK?
- UK store listings show midnight at the start of Thursday, Nov. 19 (00:00 GMT). That is store data; Rockstar has not announced a launch hour.
- What time does GTA 6 release in Australia?
- Australian store listings show 13:00 UTC on Nov. 18, which is midnight AEDT on Nov. 19 in Sydney and Melbourne. Rockstar has not announced a launch hour.
- When can I pre-load GTA 6?
- From Nov. 12, if you pre-ordered digitally, Rockstar says. It has not given a time of day. The PlayStation Store lists a "7-Day Pre-load."
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