GTA 6 Release Time By Region: When You Can Play On November 19

"Grand Theft Auto 6" is the most anticipated game of the year, and arguably the most anticipated game of all time. The release date is November 19, and gamers all over the world are counting down the seconds. In fact, the "GTA 6" release could cost the United States $1 billion because of just how many people are planning on taking time off work to play.

The official release time for "GTA 6" is midnight on that fateful November 19, and thanks to the magic of digital downloads and pre-installation, gamers (probably) won't have to wait a minute longer to start playing. Many of them might end up feeling like they're waiting an entire extra day, however, because midnight in one country is midday in another.

Time zones dictate that some regions will technically get to play "GTA 6" as many as 20 hours earlier than others. Take a look at our breakdown of the "GTA 6" rollout to see how your region's release time compares to others, and find out if you're one of the lucky few who can use a device settings trick to play the game earlier than your neighbors.

The official "GTA 6" release is locked in at midnight local-to-your-console time, and because of where the dateline falls on our planet, New Zealand will get the first crack. Midnight in New Zealand comes roughly 20 hours before midnight in Mexico and Central America, which is the last region that will get to play the game. The rest of the world lands somewhere between those two extremes. After New Zealand, "GTA 6" will come to Taiwan, then India, then central Europe. After that players in the UK will be diving into the game, followed by players throughout South America, the United States, and Canada.

If you're playing "GTA 6" in Mexico City the moment it's released, you'll be nearly a day behind gamers in New Zealand. That might sting a little, but considering all the side activities Rockstar has confirmed in "GTA 6," the players with an early start will still have barely scratched the surface of the game by the time Central American players jump in. As an added bit of consolation, no matter where you live, your local friends and neighbors will be starting the game alongside you. Gamers across the world might want to spend November 18th carefully avoiding spoilers as the "GTA 6" release makes its way around the globe, but after that everyone will be in the same boat.

Some enterprising gamers probably read the list of release times for "GTA 6" and started planning an international move. You don't need to renounce your citizenship and move all the way to New Zealand in order to play the game as early as possible on November 19. If you intend to play "GTA 6" on the Xbox, there's another option available to you.

Xbox gamers have the option to change their console's region. By doing this (it's via your profile & system settings), and setting your location to New Zealand, you'll be able to play at 11 a.m. UTC, a full 19 hours earlier than some other North American players. Unfortunately, this feature is Xbox specific.

PlayStation players could theoretically pull off a similar move, but they'd need an entirely new PlayStation Network account set to the New Zealand region and paid for with a region-local PSN gift card. That's not impossible, but the difficulty of the PlayStation region swap is one compelling reason (and possibly the only reason), to choose to play "GTA 6" on the Xbox instead of the PS5. Regardless of which console you use, you'll be playing long before PC gamers get their hands on "GTA 6."