GTA 6 file size: every number going around, and how much space to clear on PS5 and Xbox

Rockstar Games hasn't announced how big Grand Theft Auto VI is. The best figure so far is 210 GB on PS5, posted Oct. 27 by PlayStation Game Size, an account that reports PlayStation download sizes before games come out. It isn't confirmed, and no Xbox size has surfaced. Most other numbers going around are guesses, placeholders or fakes.

Whatever the final number, you'll need the room before pre-load opens on Nov. 12, boxed copy or not. Here's what each number rests on, how much space your console has, and how to make more.

The short answer

• Official size: none yet. Rockstar, Sony and Microsoft haven't published one, and when we checked on Oct. 27, neither the PlayStation Store nor the Xbox Store listed one.
• Best figure so far: 210 GB on PS5, from PlayStation Game Size. Unconfirmed.
• Xbox: no figure. The Xbox Store's data shows a 345 MB placeholder.
• How much to clear: at least 210 GB on PS5, and more if you can, since any launch-day update comes on top.

Every GTA 6 file size number, checked

210 GB on PS5. PlayStation Game Size posted the figure on Oct. 27 along with the Standard Edition's $79.99 US price and the Nov. 12 pre-load date, both already confirmed. GamesRadar described the account as reasonably reliable on upcoming PlayStation games, but the post doesn't say where the number comes from. Our story has the details.

244.86 GB. A Reddit post claimed a PlayStation screen showed 244.86 GB required. IBTimes UK couldn't verify the screenshot and found no such figure on Sony's store page.

676.7 GB on Xbox. An X post in June claimed Xbox had leaked this size by accident. Insider Gaming called it likely fake: the account's bio says its stories are made up, and the image refers to Xbox One, which GTA 6 isn't coming to.

About 345 MB on Xbox. The Xbox Store's data for GTA 6 carries an install size of 344,731,648 bytes. It has been there since at least Oct. 7 and was unchanged when we checked on Oct. 27. A game this size would fit on a thumb drive; it's a placeholder.

150 GB to 300 GB. These are fans' guesses from Reddit threads, collected by IBTimes UK. None comes from Rockstar, Sony or a store.

200 GB or more. The leaker Cyberleek has said a development build it claims to have is over 200 GB, Notebookcheck reported. We don't use leaked builds as a source, and a development build isn't the retail game.

How much space your console has

The free-space figures were measured on new consoles: the PS5 by GamesRadar, the Series S by GameSpot on its review unit, and the Series X by IGN in a hands-on preview, as Windows Central reported. Sony now sells the PS5 with a 1 TB drive, alongside an 825 GB Digital Edition in the US, and the PS5 Pro with 2 TB; system software takes a share of each.

At 210 GB, GTA 6 would take almost a third of the original PS5's free space. No Xbox size is known, but a download that size would take about a quarter of a Series X's free space and more than half of a Series S's. Microsoft has said Series S versions of games can be smaller than Series X ones, GameSpot reported, but nobody has reported a Series S size for GTA 6.

To see what's free on your own console:

• PS5: Settings, then Storage.
• Xbox Series X|S: Settings, then System, then Storage devices.

How to make room on PS5

• Move games you aren't playing to a USB drive. Sony says PS5 games can be stored on USB extended storage but not played from it, so you copy them back when you want them. PS4 games can be played straight from the drive. It must hold 250 GB to 8 TB and run at SuperSpeed USB 5 Gbps or faster.
• Add an M.2 SSD. The PS5's expansion slot takes PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe drives from 250 GB to 8 TB, and Sony says they need a heatsink or similar cooling. PS5 games can be downloaded to it and played from it, though Sony notes that not every game performs exactly as it does on the internal drive.
• Clear old captures. Videos and screenshots in your Media Gallery count against the same storage.

How to make room on Xbox

• Move games to a USB drive. Games made for Xbox Series X|S can be stored on an external drive but have to go back to the internal drive or a Storage Expansion Card before you can play them, Seagate's FAQ says. Xbox One and older backward-compatible games can play straight from USB.
• Add a Storage Expansion Card. It plugs into a slot on the back and runs Series X|S games at the same speed as the internal drive. Seagate's 1 TB card adds about 920 GB of free space, Windows Central reported.

Pre-load, the box and the unlock

• Pre-load opens Nov. 12 for digital pre-orders, Rockstar says. It hasn't said at what time.
• The box has no disc. The physical version is a download code, and the Rockstar Store says the code is there to support pre-load on Nov. 12. Everyone downloads the full game.
• The game unlocks Nov. 19. US store listings unlock it at midnight Eastern, which is 9 p.m. Pacific on Nov. 18. Our release time guide shows the time where you live.

Once pre-load opens, your console will show the real download size before the download starts. Our pre-load guide has the rest, and you can tick off clearing space in our launch-day checklist.

What we're watching for

• An official size from Rockstar, Sony or Microsoft
• The Xbox Series X|S size
• A launch-day update and how big it is

We'll update this guide as soon as any of these is published. Our Is it true? page tracks whether a size has been announced, and our confirmed-facts ledger lists what Rockstar hasn't confirmed yet.