GTA 6 Release Time Africa & Oceania — Major Cities

GTA 6 comes out on Thursday 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and New Zealand is the first country in the world to get it, at 12am NZDT. South Africa unlocks at 12am SAST eleven hours later. For most other African and Pacific countries, no exact release moment has been published yet. Choose your city in the countdown above to see where things stand for you.

On 3 November, Rockstar's support team confirmed the game releases at midnight local time in all regions on both consoles. The exact moment for each country is set by its PlayStation Store listing, which uses one release time for the whole country.

New Zealand: first in the world

The New Zealand store unlocks at 11am UTC on Wednesday 18 November, which is 12am NZDT on Thursday 19 November in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin and the rest of the country. No other market starts earlier, so Kiwi players get GTA 6 two hours before Sydney and eighteen hours before New York.

The Chatham Islands use the New Zealand store but run 45 minutes ahead of the mainland, so Waitangi gets the game at 12:45am on Thursday. It's one of the few places on Earth where the launch lands on a quarter-hour.

Australia

Australia has its own release moment, two hours after New Zealand. Because the Australian store uses Sydney time nationwide, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane and Adelaide get in on Wednesday night. Our Australia release-time guide has a countdown for every state and city.

South Africa: midnight SAST

South Africa unlocks at 12am SAST on Thursday 19 November (10pm UTC on Wednesday) in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Bloemfontein and every other province. The South African store shares its release moment with Greece, Finland, Romania, Israel and the other UTC+2 markets, so it unlocks two hours before the UK.

The rest of Africa

We haven't found a published PlayStation Store release moment for other African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Ethiopia, Algeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Rockstar's statement covers every region, but where the game unlocks for you depends on the store your account belongs to. Many players in these countries use accounts from South Africa, the UAE, the UK or the US, and the game unlocks on that store's clock.

Rather than guess, the countdown shows "awaiting confirmation" for these countries. After you pre-order, the countdown on the game's page on your console is the one to trust.

Pacific islands

The same applies to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the other Pacific nations: no store release moment has been published. Players on New Zealand or Australian accounts unlock on those stores' times.

PS5 and Xbox

Rockstar says both consoles release at midnight local time. The exact country times on this page come from PlayStation Store listings. Microsoft doesn't publish a per-country unlock moment, so the Xbox column is our estimate that it will match.

Pre-loading

Pre-loading opened on 10 November. On PS5 it opened at midnight local time. On Xbox it opened at one moment worldwide, 12am GMT, which was 1pm in Auckland and 2am in Johannesburg on Tuesday 10 November. Rockstar says you'll need up to 212GB of free space depending on your console. Our GTA 6 download size guide shows what to clear, and download times by internet speed shows how long it takes.

Physical copies

Rockstar's boxed versions are code-in-box editions, due at retailers from 12 November. You redeem the code and download the full game, and it unlocks at the same moment as a digital copy.

Why New Zealand is the "play early" region

Because New Zealand unlocks first, some players elsewhere plan to switch their Xbox region to New Zealand or buy through a New Zealand PlayStation account. Rockstar doesn't support either approach. For New Zealanders there's nothing to do: you're already first. Our guide to playing GTA 6 early explains the trade-offs.

If GTA 6 won't launch

• Your account's country decides the time. A UK account used in Nigeria unlocks on UK time.
• Stay online so your console can complete the first licence check.
• Finish any day-one update before starting the game.
• Restore your licence on PS5 (Settings, Users and Accounts, Other, Restore Licences), or restart your Xbox while signed in to the account that bought the game.
• Changing your console clock won't help. The unlock is checked online.

Africa and Oceania FAQ

What time does GTA 6 come out in New Zealand? 12am NZDT on Thursday 19 November 2026. New Zealand is the first country to get it.

What time does GTA 6 come out in South Africa? 12am SAST on Thursday 19 November 2026.

What time does GTA 6 come out in Nigeria, Kenya or Egypt? No exact time has been published for these countries' stores. Rockstar says the game releases at midnight local time in all regions, and the countdown on your console will show the moment for your account's store.

Is GTA 6 out in New Zealand before Australia? Yes, by two hours: 12am in Auckland is 10pm on Wednesday in Sydney and Melbourne.

GTA 6 release times in other regions

• Australia: every state and city
• North America: USA, Canada and Mexico
• Europe: UK, Germany, France and more
• Asia: India, Japan, Singapore and more
• South America: Brazil, Argentina and more
• Africa and Oceania: New Zealand, South Africa and more

Once you're playing, our GTA 6 Story Guide adds mission walkthroughs as we play and check each one.

Sources

1. Rockstar Support: Grand Theft Auto VI regional pre-load and release times on PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series X|S (updated November 3, 2026)
2. Rockstar Newswire: Grand Theft Auto VI Pre-Load Begins on November 10 (November 3, 2026)
3. GTA BOOM: regional PlayStation Store release timestamps for GTA 6 (updated September 8, 2026)