Grand Theft Auto VI is so close that you can metaphorically taste it. Now that the pre-loads have started rolling out, with New Zealand first in the queue, the download size players have guessed at for months is settled. Rockstar Games has the PlayStation 5 pulling 209.8 GB, with Grand Theft Auto fans in New Zealand already watching the bar fill, including our very own Hassan Sajid.
The figure comes straight off the PS5 download screen. It reads 209.8 GB for the content needed to start playing, captured as the first pre-loads unlocked in New Zealand. It matches what we reported as a roughly 210 GB install almost to the gigabyte.
The PS5 handles it as a staged download. The screen says you can start playing the installed part once this first chunk is in, but GTA 6 still needs to unlock on November 19 before you can play. Our pre-load guide covers the size, speed and storage prep if you want everything cleared before your region's turn.
New Zealand goes first because the pre-load follows local time, the same way the game itself unlocks by region. Rockstar set the pre-load live from November 10 and is giving pre-order customers a free Leonida paper map, so the countries crossing midnight first are the first to see both the download and the bonus.
What the GTA 6 pre-load confirms
Detail | What we know |
|---|---|
Confirmed download size | 209.8 GB on PS5 |
Source | A live New Zealand pre-load screen |
Pre-load start | Rolling out from local midnight, New Zealand first |
Pre-order bonus | Free Leonida paper map |
How the PS5 handles it | Staged download, start the installed part once the first chunk is in |
Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series X and S |
Release | November 19 |
The 209.8 GB number confirms months of reporting and pre-loads are now live rather than scheduled.
A 209.8 GB download means you may need more than 209.8 GB free to install it. The console writes the files as they arrive, so you'll want to have comfortable headroom on the PS5's SSD. Clearing space is the one bit of prep that cannot wait for launch night, because a full drive stops the install cold no matter how fast your connection is.
Speed is the other half. For anyone worried about a slow pull on the biggest download night of the year, Spectrum is giving out free gigabit speed to help, though a fast plan only matters if your storage is ready to receive it.
The pre-load going live caps a week of the game leaking out in pieces, from the PS5 home-screen music doing the rounds to datamined store listings. New Zealand pressing download is the first time any of it is the real thing rather than a tease. Australia reaches midnight next, then the wave moves west through Asia and Europe toward the Americas.
For eleven years GTA VI has been mostly only trailers, screenshots and rumours. Tonight, somewhere in New Zealand, it is a progress bar and 209.8 GB crawling onto a hard drive. The only thing between the rest of us and Vice City or Leonida now is a download and the wait for November 19.