Grand Theft Auto 6 will finally launch on November 19, 2026, at midnight in your region. Technically, that means New Zealand gets it earliest, as 00:00 NZDT (New Zealand Daylight Time) aligns with 06:00 EST (Eastern Standard Time) on November 18, while the rest of us wait for our own clocks to tick over. Dedicated fans at GTAVice.net spotted the regional launch plans, but there's a catch.
The timestamps come from Sony's PlayStation Store listings, which is actually better news for Xbox fans. PS5 users can't change their console's region so easily to trick the system, while Xbox Series X|S gamers can still head to their Settings menu and change their Language & location settings to match New Zealand's kickoff of the rolling midnight launch.
PlayStation 5 owners can put extra effort into making a new account, but that also means finding a way to buy the game in the local NZ$ currency. If you already pre-ordered on Xbox in your own country, switching to a region on the furthest edge of the time zones should be a relatively simple trick for eager Xbox gamers looking to play GTA 6 early.
How to change your region on Xbox Series X|S
- From your Xbox dashboard, enter Settings (the cogwheel)
- On the left menu, scroll to System
- Move to the right side and select Language & location
- Choose your new region, e.g., New Zealand
- Select Restart now to apply the changes
Is this trick guaranteed to work for GTA6?
In theory, I can't think of any compelling reasons this shouldn't work on an Xbox Series X|S, as it has in the past for digital games with rolling midnight launches. However, that doesn't mean Rockstar Games and its publisher, Take-Two, don't have a trick up their sleeve to prevent GTA 6 from being playable a day earlier with the same region tweak we used on titles like Call of Duty.
Even though Grand Theft Auto VI doesn't have any multiplayer components planned for its launch, that doesn't mean it's a strictly offline experience. It's reasonable to assume that stat tracking will apply during the single-player campaign, presumably shared among players when their console is connected to the internet.
Otherwise, if the game verifies your previous purchase and confirms your new region is a valid location (and the game doesn't require a day-one patch to launch), we might be able to play the story of GTA 6 entirely offline. Personally, I'm not feeling the same level of excitement as many others, so I'm willing to wait, but I don't see why this wouldn't work for anyone who already pre-ordered in their local currency.
In XBOX's official messaging, the brand warns of regional caveats. For example, any local currency tied to your account will not transfer over, and Microsoft can't help with that. If you were planning to buy any GTA 6 "Ultimate Edition" add-ons, you'll need to do it before changing your region. Still, it's easy to revert your Xbox console to its original region, so it's certainly tempting.
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