GTA 6 pre-load opens on November 12, a full week before launch, and the game is reported to take up around 210 GB (Rockstar has not confirmed the official size yet). As reported by Spanish outlet Vandal, players are already working out what internet speed they need to be ready on day one.
A week to grab 210 GB
Grand Theft Auto VI releases on November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but you won't have to wait until launch day to start downloading. From November 12 you'll be able to pre-load the game, so when it unlocks all that's left is to boot it up.
The catch is the file size. 210 GB is huge, even by Rockstar open-world standards. On a slow connection, leaving it to the last minute could mean staring at a progress bar while everyone else is already cruising around Leonida.
How long will the GTA 6 download take?
We ran our own rough numbers: 210 GB works out to about 1,680 gigabits. Here's how long the download would take at full speed with no interruptions:
| Connection speed | Approximate time |
|---|---|
| 30 Mbps | about 15 h 30 min |
| 50 Mbps | about 9 h 20 min |
| 100 Mbps | about 4 h 40 min |
| 300 Mbps | around 1 h 35 min |
| 600 Mbps | around 47 min |
| 1 Gbps | around 28 min |
Keep in mind these are best-case figures. Real-world speeds will be lower, because millions of players will be downloading at the same time and servers get congested, and because Wi-Fi rarely delivers the speed you pay for. Also, don't mix up megabits (Mbps, what your internet plan advertises) with megabytes (MB/s, what consoles usually display): 100 Mbps is roughly 12.5 MB/s.
What it means if you're waiting for the game
If you have 300 Mbps or faster, you'll be fine even if you download on launch day. On 50 to 100 Mbps, it's worth starting the pre-load as soon as it goes live. And if you're stuck around 30 Mbps or on mobile data, that week of breathing room is pretty much essential.
A few tips to make sure you're ready:
- Start on November 12 instead of waiting for the weekend before launch.
- Use a wired Ethernet connection if you can: it's the easiest speed boost there is.
- Leave your console in rest mode with downloads enabled overnight.
- Free up storage ahead of time by deleting games you're not playing, so the download doesn't stall for lack of space.
The GTA 6 launch is set to be one of the busiest moments of the year for PlayStation and Xbox networks. The sooner the game is on your drive, the less you'll depend on how the servers hold up on November 19.