GTA 6 Release Time Asia — India, Japan, Singapore & More

GTA 6 comes out on Thursday 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. In Asia it unlocks at midnight local time one store region at a time: Japan and South Korea first, then Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, then Indonesia and Thailand, then India at 12am IST, and finally the Gulf. Choose your city in the countdown above for your exact time.

Rockstar's support team confirmed on 3 November that the release is midnight local time in all regions for both consoles. The precise moment for each country comes from its PlayStation Store listing.

The order GTA 6 unlocks across Asia

• Japan and South Korea: 12am JST/KST on Thursday 19 November (3pm UTC on Wednesday).
• Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia: 12am local time, one hour later.
• Thailand and Indonesia: 12am local time, two hours after Tokyo.
• India: 12am IST, three and a half hours after Tokyo.
• United Arab Emirates: 12am Gulf Standard Time, five hours after Tokyo.
• Saudi Arabia and Turkey: 12am local time (UTC+3), six hours after Tokyo.
• Israel: 12am local time (UTC+2), seven hours after Tokyo.

Every one of these is still Wednesday night or earlier in Europe and the Americas, so players in Asia start well ahead of the UK and the US.

India: midnight IST in every state

India has a single time zone, so GTA 6 unlocks at 12am IST on Thursday 19 November in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and everywhere else, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. That's 6:30pm on Wednesday in London and 1:30pm on Wednesday in New York.

Japan and South Korea

Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and Busan unlock together at 12am on Thursday 19 November. After New Zealand and Australia, they're the earliest major markets anywhere.

Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan

These stores unlock at 12am on Thursday 19 November local time (UTC+8). Malaysia uses one time across the peninsula and Borneo, so Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching all unlock at the same moment.

Indonesia and Thailand

Thailand unlocks at 12am on Thursday in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Indonesia's store uses Jakarta time for the whole country, so the islands further east get in later on their own clocks: 12am in Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan, 1am in Bali, Makassar and Balikpapan, and 2am in Maluku and Papua.

The Middle East

Dubai and Abu Dhabi unlock at 12am GST on Thursday. Riyadh, Jeddah and Istanbul unlock at 12am local time, an hour later. Israel shares its release moment with Greece and Cyprus, at midnight in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Where the unlock time hasn't been published

Rockstar's rule applies everywhere, but we haven't found a published release moment for many Asian markets, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the Central Asian countries. For these, the countdown shows "awaiting confirmation" rather than a guess.

In practice, your unlock time follows the store your account belongs to. Plenty of players in these countries use an account from Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE or another market, and the game unlocks on that store's clock. After you pre-order, the countdown on your console's game page is the one to go by.

PS5 and Xbox

Rockstar says both consoles release at midnight local time. The PlayStation Store publishes the exact moment for each country. Microsoft doesn't, so the Xbox times in our countdown and table are labelled as estimates that we expect to match.

Pre-loading in Asia

Pre-loading began on 10 November. On PS5 it opened at midnight local time. On Xbox it opened at one moment worldwide, 12am GMT, which was 9am in Tokyo and Seoul, 8am in Singapore and Hong Kong, 5:30am in India and 4am in Dubai. Rockstar says the pre-load needs up to 212GB depending on your console. Check our GTA 6 download size guide and download times by internet speed so you're ready before launch night.

Physical copies

Rockstar's boxed versions are code-in-box editions, due at retailers from 12 November. There's no disc inside: you redeem the code, download the game, and it unlocks at the same time as a digital purchase.

Can you play earlier from Asia?

Only New Zealand and Australia unlock before Japan and South Korea. New Zealand starts at 11am UTC on Wednesday 18 November, which is 8pm in Tokyo and 4:30pm in India. Switching your Xbox region or buying through a New Zealand PlayStation account has been discussed by players, but Rockstar doesn't support it. Our guide to playing GTA 6 early covers the risks.

If GTA 6 doesn't start at midnight

1. Make sure you're online. The first launch needs a licence check with PlayStation Network or Xbox network.
2. Check which store bought the game. An account from another country unlocks on that country's time.
3. Let any day-one update finish downloading.
4. On PS5, go to Settings, Users and Accounts, Other, then Restore Licences. On Xbox, restart while signed in to the account that bought the game.
5. Don't change your console clock. It won't unlock the game.

Asia FAQ

What time does GTA 6 come out in India? 12am IST on Thursday 19 November 2026, in every Indian state.

What time does GTA 6 come out in Japan? 12am JST on Thursday 19 November.

What time does GTA 6 come out in Singapore and Malaysia? 12am on Thursday 19 November (UTC+8).

What time does GTA 6 come out in Dubai? 12am GST on Thursday 19 November.

What time does GTA 6 come out in the Philippines? No unlock time has been published for the Philippine store yet. Rockstar says midnight local time applies in all regions, and your console's countdown will show the exact moment.

Does Asia get GTA 6 before the US? Yes. India unlocks ten and a half hours before New York, and Japan fourteen hours before.

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)