GTA 6 preload: when it starts, how long it takes, and the two settings that stop it stalling

Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out on 19 November, but launch night really gets decided a week earlier. Preloading opens on 12 November, and if the game's on your console by the 18th, midnight is a button press. If it isn't, you're downloading it at the same time as everyone else on your street.

When preloading starts

The date, 12 November, is Rockstar's. It covers digital pre-orders and the boxed edition too, which has a download code in the box instead of a disc and ships the same day.

The hour's less certain. Several launch guides say Rockstar Support puts the start at midnight local time, which would match the release itself. We couldn't find anyone quoting the support page directly, so treat midnight as likely but unconfirmed. In practice it doesn't matter much, because you've got seven days.

How long the download takes

Rockstar hasn't published a file size, and the estimates cluster around 150 to 200GB. At 200GB, best case, with nothing else using the line:

• 1 Gbps: about half an hour
• 500 Mbps: about an hour
• 100 Mbps: about four and a half hours
• 50 Mbps: about nine hours
• 25 Mbps: most of a day

Real downloads run slower than the line speed, especially on Wi-Fi and especially on a night when everybody's pulling the same file. The first evening of a preload window is busy. By the third, things have usually calmed down.

The two settings that stop it stalling

Most failed preloads aren't slow connections at all. They're consoles that went to sleep.

On PS5, open Settings, then System, then Power Saving, then Features Available in Rest Mode, and switch on Stay Connected to the Internet. Then, under Saved Data and Game/App Settings, make sure Auto-Downloads is on. With both set, a digital pre-order downloads by itself in rest mode. If it hasn't started, find GTA 6 in your Game Library and choose Download.

On Xbox Series X and S, open Settings, then General, then Power options, and make sure the console's set to Sleep and not Shut down, which cuts the network. Then check that Keep my games and apps up to date is ticked. The preload shows up in My games and apps, under the queue.

Plug the console into the router with a cable if you can. It's the single biggest speed-up you can get, and it costs a few euros.

Make room first

Clear about 250GB before 12 November. That covers the high end of the estimates plus a day-one patch. On a 512GB Xbox Series S, which has about 364GB usable, that's most of the drive. Our SSD guide covers when adding storage beats deleting games.

A preload won't let you play early

A preload puts the files on your drive, and that's all it does. You can't play early. The game unlocks at midnight in your store region, and until then the icon stays locked.

There'll almost certainly be a patch on the day as well, so expect a short final download at launch even with a finished preload. Nobody knows yet how big that patch will be.

The exact preload hour and the real install size haven't been published either. We'll update this page as each one comes out, most likely in the week before 12 November, when the store listings start showing a size.