GTA 6 unlocks first in New Zealand, 18 hours before the US
Store listings put GTA 6's unlock in New Zealand at midnight on Nov. 19 local time, which is 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 18. No other country gets it earlier.
New Zealand will be the first country to play Grand Theft Auto VI. Its PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store listings both unlock the game at midnight at the start of Thursday, Nov. 19, New Zealand time. That moment is 11:00 UTC on Wednesday, Nov. 18, or 6 a.m. Eastern, 18 hours before the US listings unlock it at midnight Eastern.
Every listing we read on Nov. 4 uses midnight on Nov. 19 in the country's own time zone, so the launch travels west with midnight. Australia comes two hours after New Zealand, the UK 13 hours after, and Mexico, last of all, 19 hours after.
When GTA 6 unlocks around the world
These are the unlock times in the Microsoft Store data for every country where the Xbox store sells GTA 6, in launch order, with the same moment in US Eastern time. Each is midnight at the start of Nov. 19 in that country; the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Australia each use one time zone for the whole country. Where we also read the PlayStation Store on Nov. 4, in New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Germany, the UK and the US, it lists the same times.
| US Eastern time | UTC | Where it's midnight, Nov. 19 |
|---|---|---|
| 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 11:00, Nov. 18 | New Zealand |
| 8 a.m. | 13:00 | Australia (Sydney and Melbourne time) |
| 10 a.m. | 15:00 | Japan, South Korea |
| 11 a.m. | 16:00 | Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan |
| 1:30 p.m. | 18:30 | India |
| 3 p.m. | 20:00 | United Arab Emirates |
| 4 p.m. | 21:00 | Saudi Arabia, Turkey |
| 5 p.m. | 22:00 | Finland, Greece, Israel, South Africa |
| 6 p.m. | 23:00 | Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland |
| 7 p.m. | 00:00, Nov. 19 | UK, Ireland, Portugal |
| 10 p.m. | 03:00 | Argentina, Brazil (Brasília time), Chile |
| Midnight, Thursday, Nov. 19 | 05:00 | US and Canada (Eastern time), Colombia |
| 1 a.m. Thursday | 06:00 | Mexico (Mexico City time) |
Nobody gets it before New Zealand. The Microsoft Store also covers Pacific island countries whose clocks reach Nov. 19 as early or earlier, such as Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati, but GTA 6 isn't on sale in any of them, and the PlayStation Store has no storefront east of New Zealand.
What it means in the US
When the US listings unlock GTA 6 at midnight Eastern, players in New Zealand will have had it for 18 hours, players in Australia for 16 and players in the UK for five. Footage from the game, story spoilers included, can start appearing online on Wednesday morning, US time. On The Leonida, story spoilers stay blurred until you choose to see them.
The US listings give one time for the whole country, which is 9 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Rockstar, Sony and Microsoft haven't said whether players in the Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones get the game at that moment or at their own midnight. Our release time guide has the listed time in every US time zone.
New Zealand can start pre-loading first, too
Rockstar said on Nov. 3 that digital pre-loading starts on Tuesday, Nov. 10, two days earlier than the Nov. 12 date in its June pre-order announcement. On PS5, pre-loading begins "at midnight local time in your respective time zone," Rockstar says, so it opens in New Zealand first, at 6 a.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 9. On Xbox Series X|S it opens at one moment everywhere, midnight GMT on Nov. 10, which is 1 p.m. that Tuesday in New Zealand and 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, in the US East. The download needs up to 212 GB, depending on the console, and the Code in Box version should reach stores from Nov. 12, according to Rockstar.
Our countdown shows the store unlock time for where you are, New Zealand included.
Questions readers ask
- Which country gets GTA 6 first?
- New Zealand, going by the store listings. Its PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store listings unlock GTA 6 at midnight at the start of Nov. 19, New Zealand time (11:00 UTC on Nov. 18), before any other country where the game is sold. Rockstar hasn't announced a launch hour.
- What time does GTA 6 unlock in New Zealand?
- Midnight at the start of Thursday, Nov. 19, New Zealand time, on both the PlayStation Store and the Xbox store listings. That is 11:00 UTC on Nov. 18, or 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
- How much earlier does New Zealand get GTA 6 than the US?
- 18 hours. New Zealand's listings unlock it at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 18; the US listings unlock it at midnight Eastern at the start of Thursday, Nov. 19, which is 9 p.m. Pacific on Nov. 18.
- When can you pre-load GTA 6 in New Zealand?
- On PS5, from midnight at the start of Tuesday, Nov. 10, New Zealand time, Rockstar says. On Xbox Series X|S, pre-loading opens everywhere at once at midnight GMT on Nov. 10, which is 1 p.m. on Nov. 10 in New Zealand.
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