GTA 6 release time: when it unlocks in every timezone

The PlayStation Store lists 15 unlock windows across 19 hours, from New Zealand first to Mexico last. Each one is midnight in that store region’s main time zone, in the order the game goes live:

• New Zealand: midnight NZDT, November 19 (November 18, 11:00 UTC).
• Australia: midnight AEDT in Sydney (November 18, 13:00 UTC); 9pm on November 18 in Perth.
• Japan and South Korea: midnight, November 19 (November 18, 15:00 UTC).
• Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia: midnight (November 18, 16:00 UTC).
• India: midnight IST (November 18, 18:30 UTC).
• UAE: midnight GST (November 18, 20:00 UTC).
• Saudi Arabia and Türkiye: midnight (November 18, 21:00 UTC).
• Finland, Greece, South Africa, Israel: midnight (November 18, 22:00 UTC).
• Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland: midnight CET (November 18, 23:00 UTC); 11pm on November 18 in the Canary Islands.
• UK, Ireland, Portugal, Iceland: midnight GMT (November 19, 00:00 UTC); 11pm on November 18 in the Azores.
• Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay: midnight (November 19, 03:00 UTC); 11pm on November 18 in Manaus, 10pm in Acre, 1am in Fernando de Noronha.
• Bolivia: midnight (November 19, 04:00 UTC).
• United States, Canada, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador: midnight Eastern (November 19, 05:00 UTC); 11pm Central, 10pm Mountain, 9pm Pacific, 8pm Alaska and 7pm Hawaii on November 18.
• Mexico and Central America: midnight CST (November 19, 06:00 UTC); 10pm on November 18 in Baja California.

Your account’s store region sets the time. Changing the console clock or system region does nothing, and on PlayStation an account’s region cannot be changed after it is created.

1. Check your own store page. On PS5, open the GTA VI page in the PlayStation Store: the release timestamp shown there is the one that applies to you. The Xbox Store shows the date without an hour, so assume the same midnight window and confirm on the night.
2. Redeem and preload from November 12. Preload starts at local midnight on November 12 for digital pre-orders and for physical codes already redeemed. If your box arrives later, redeem the code as soon as it does.
3. Leave room for a day-one update. Rockstar has not announced one, but its recent launches had one. Keep the console online on the evening of November 18 so it installs before the unlock.
4. On the night, stay in your library. The preloaded game stays locked until the timestamp passes. If it still shows locked a few minutes later, restart the console; on PS5, Settings, Users and Accounts, Other, Restore Licences clears most stuck locks, and on Xbox signing out and back in does the same.
5. Mute spoilers. New Zealand and Australia play 13 to 19 hours before the Americas. Mute “GTA 6” and “Leonida” from the morning of November 18 if the story matters to you.

• The hour. Rockstar has only confirmed the date and the November 12 preload. The midnight windows come from store listings, and Sony or Rockstar can change them before launch. We recheck this page on November 12 and November 18.
• Xbox timing. The Xbox Store does not show per-country times. It is expected to match PlayStation, but nothing published confirms it.
• The New Zealand trick. Buying in an earlier region needs a PlayStation account and payment method from that region, and a mismatched code may not activate. Xbox codes are not region-locked, but no listing shows that Xbox follows the PlayStation windows. Not worth a second account for a few hours.
• Pre-order bonuses. The Vintage Vice City Pack and the free month of GTA+ (digital only) apply to purchases before November 20, so buying on launch day still gets them.
• GTA Online. Both stores list GTA VI as single-player. Rockstar has not detailed an online mode, so no unlock time applies to it.