Notebookcheck says the PlayStation Store countdown hints at a local-midnight unlock, meaning 12 PM in Paris on 18 November. Rockstar has confirmed nothing.
Sources notebookcheck.net
A launch that unlocks region by region at local midnight, rather than everywhere at once: that is the theory Notebookcheck relays on Monday, based on the countdown shown in the PlayStation Store. Rockstar has confirmed nothing of the sort.
According to Notebookcheck, the countdown hints that players will not all start at the same moment. New Zealand would go first, at midnight. The outlet cites a chart from Videotech that converts that time for other parts of the world.
If the maths holds, midnight in New Zealand on 19 November equals 12 PM in Paris on 18 November, a day before the official date. Notebookcheck says France, Germany and Italy are targeting 12 PM on the 18th. On the US East Coast that would be 6 AM on the 18th, and 3 AM on the West Coast.
None of this comes from Rockstar. As we wrote in our piece on the release time, the publisher has given neither an unlock time nor a reference time zone. "Midnight" is a hint drawn from the PlayStation Store, with no time zone attached.
Read also GTA 6 sprint controls: left-stick click reported, full options still unclear
The outlet also describes a method going around among players: create a New Zealand PSN account, turn on console sharing and offline play, pre-order with a gift card from that region (Play-Asia is named), then launch the game from your usual profile. On Xbox, changing the console's country setting would be enough, per the same source.
Be careful: Notebookcheck notes that PlayStation Network forbids using an account tied to a country where you do not live. Sony does not always enforce it, but the risk is real and nothing guarantees the unlock will work that way on the day. We do not recommend it.
For now, nothing changes: the official date stays 19 November 2026, and pre-loading opens on 12 November, as Notebookcheck recalls, with a file reported around 210 GB by leaks. If Rockstar does choose a local-midnight unlock, French players would wait for the night of 18 to 19 November. We will see whether the publisher gives the exact time before launch. Our release and price pages are updated as soon as official information lands.
Sources notebookcheck.net
Reported Reported by the press, not confirmed by Rockstar
By Daniel Jasner · GTAVIFRANCE newsroom
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