Grand Theft Auto VI will unlock in stages based on local time in each region on November 19, rather than opening globally at a unified time. The PlayStation Store page has already listed this unlock schedule.
According to the information displayed on the page, New Zealand will be the first to unlock the game at midnight local time on November 19. As other regions enter the day, players in Australia, Japan, Europe, and the US will also gain access at midnight in their respective local times.
This arrangement means Grand Theft Auto VI will not use a global simultaneous unlock. Due to time zone differences, players in New Zealand will gain access more than 15 hours earlier than most US states, resulting in significant gaps in actual start times across regions.
Players in regions with earlier unlock times will be able to play before midnight on November 19 in the US. Gameplay footage and potential story spoilers may also appear online ahead of time.
Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19. The PC version will not be available at launch; it is planned for a future release, with no specific date announced yet.