GTA 6 pre-loads start tonight on Xbox, the files already hint at multiplayer, and Rockstar is throwing a launch festival in Miami

Ten days out, and the download is already moving. Grand Theft Auto VI pre-loading is live for PS5 players in New Zealand and Australia, GameSpot reports, and it rolls west from there. The game itself still launches November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

When you can start your download

Rockstar moved pre-loading up from the November 12 date it gave when pre-orders opened in June (we covered that original date back in October). Per Rockstar’s update, as reported by VGC:

• PS5: Tuesday, November 10 at midnight local time, so most of the US gets it tonight at midnight wherever you live.
• Xbox Series X|S: November 10 at 12 a.m. GMT worldwide, which is 7 p.m. ET tonight, Monday, November 9.
• Code-in-box copies: at retailers starting November 12. There’s no disc, just a download code.

Clear some room first. Rockstar says the pre-load needs up to 212GB depending on your console, and PlayStation.Blog tells PS5 owners to free up at least that much. That’s a touch over the 210GB figure that leaked last month.

What people found in the files

It didn’t take long for dataminers to start digging. The PlayStation Game Size account posted references to “joinSession,” “launchActivity” and “launchMultiplayerActivity” in the PS5 build, and GameSpot notes the “Story” content shows up as its own download inside the game’s files. People also believe they’ve spotted references to 120Hz on PS5 Pro and Sony’s PSSR upscaling.

Keep the salt handy. Rockstar hasn’t announced any PS5 Pro specifics, and GameSpot points out that multiplayer strings in a file don’t mean online play is there at launch. Rockstar is pitching GTA VI as a story game on day one.

GTA VI: The Festival

Rockstar and PlayStation are also throwing a party. Grand Theft Auto VI: The Festival takes over Mana Wynwood in Miami on November 21, two days after launch, with artists from the game’s radio stations and soundtrack, per Insider Gaming. The lineup includes Travis Scott, Cardi B, Metro Boomin, Don Toliver, Kodak Black, Tainy and Justice. Tickets go through a DICE pre-sale lottery that closes tomorrow, November 10, at 4 p.m. ET, with winners drawn at 7 p.m. ET and tickets on sale Wednesday, November 11, at noon ET.

PPR take: The pre-load bump is the part that actually matters for most of us. With up to 212GB to pull down and the entire planet hitting the same servers, nine days of runway instead of seven is just smart, and if you’re on Xbox you can kick it off tonight after dinner. The datamined multiplayer strings are fun, but I wouldn’t read them as a launch feature. Rockstar has been clear that November 19 is about Jason and Lucia’s story, and an online mode was always going to come down the road. The PS5 Pro hints are the bit I’d most like to see confirmed, since every trailer so far was captured on a base PS5. And the festival? A Miami launch party for a game set in a fake Miami is about as on-brand as it gets. Good luck in the lottery.