GTA 6 Release Time by Region: When You Can Actually Play
GTA 6 launches Thursday, November 19, 2026. PlayStation and Xbox store listings unlock it at midnight local time in each region — here's exactly when that is where you live, and what's still unconfirmed.
The date has been locked since November 2025: Grand Theft Auto VI arrives on Thursday, November 19, 2026. Rockstar still hasn't said what time it unlocks — but the PlayStation Store and Xbox store listings already carry a release timestamp for every region, and they tell a consistent story.
Every storefront we checked is set to midnight on November 19 in its own main timezone. So the launch rolls around the world, starting in New Zealand and ending in the Americas. Our release-time tool detects your timezone and shows your exact moment.
Unlock times by store region
In unlock order, with the store's local time and UTC:
- New Zealand — midnight NZDT (11:00 UTC, Nov 18)
- Australia — midnight AEDT, one time nationwide (13:00 UTC, Nov 18) — that's 9 p.m. on Nov 18 in Perth
- Japan and South Korea — midnight (15:00 UTC, Nov 18)
- Hong Kong and Singapore — midnight (16:00 UTC, Nov 18)
- India — midnight IST (18:30 UTC, Nov 18)
- United Arab Emirates — midnight (20:00 UTC, Nov 18)
- Saudi Arabia — midnight (21:00 UTC, Nov 18)
- South Africa — midnight SAST (22:00 UTC, Nov 18)
- Germany and France — midnight CET (23:00 UTC, Nov 18)
- United Kingdom — midnight GMT (00:00 UTC, Nov 19)
- Brazil, Argentina and Chile — midnight (03:00 UTC, Nov 19)
- United States and Canada — midnight Eastern, one time nationwide (05:00 UTC, Nov 19)
- Mexico — midnight Central (06:00 UTC, Nov 19)
Why the West Coast plays on Wednesday night
Big countries with one store share a single timestamp. The US and Canada stores both use midnight Eastern, so GTA VI unlocks at 11 p.m. Central, 10 p.m. Mountain and 9 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday, November 18. Australia works the same way on Sydney time — which is why Western Australia's listing works out to 9 p.m. the night before.
What isn't confirmed
- Rockstar hasn't published an official unlock hour. These times come from the stores' own listing data, which can change before launch.
- We checked store regions across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Countries we haven't checked most likely follow the same midnight-local pattern — our tool shows that as "expected."
- Store data can't tell us whether consoles in other timezones of a multi-zone country, like Western Australia, actually unlock at the shared moment or at their own midnight.
Be ready the minute it unlocks
The unlock time only matters if the game is already on your console. Digital pre-orders can pre-load from midnight local time on November 12, and the physical version — a download code in a box, no disc — is available from November 12 so you can pre-load too. Our pre-load guide covers the console settings, and the pre-order guide covers editions and prices.
Get the confirmed time
If Rockstar announces an official unlock time, we'll update this page and the countdown, and email the newsletter with the time for your region.
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