GTA 6 pre-loading starts November 12, so plan for a reported 210GB download

“Grand Theft Auto VI” will be ready to download a full week before it can be played, with Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive confirming that players who pre-order a digital copy can begin the GTA 6 pre-load on November 12, 2026, ahead of the game’s November 19 launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. That week matters more than usual this time, because a PlayStation Store tracking account reported on October 27 that the PS5 download weighs about 210GB, a figure Rockstar hasn’t confirmed but which puts the size of the job in perspective for anyone downloading on a Nigerian connection.

With the launch three weeks away, the practical questions for Nigerian players have shifted from price to storage and data. A download that size can swallow a large chunk of a console’s SSD and a serious amount of mobile data or broadband allowance, so the seven days between pre-load and launch are the window to get it done calmly instead of racing a progress bar on launch night.

The 210GB figure is big, but Rockstar hasn’t put its name to it

The 210GB number comes from an account on X that tracks PlayStation Store file sizes, and outlets that reported it described it as unconfirmed. Rockstar hasn’t published an official download size for either console, and no figure has surfaced for the Xbox version. It also isn’t clear whether the reported size includes any launch-day update, so the amount you actually download on November 12 could be different from what ends up on your drive by November 19.

Even treated as an estimate, it’s a useful warning. The original PS5 shipped with an 825GB SSD, and part of that is reserved for the system, so a 210GB game would take a big bite out of what’s left on a console that already holds a few large titles. NaijaGamer saw the same storage pressure this week when “Phantom Blade Zero” asked PC players to keep 300GB free for its preload, and GTA 6 is likely to push console owners into the same clear-out.

Clear your SSD before November 12, not on launch night

On PS5, open Settings > Storage to see how much space is free and which games are taking the most room. Deleting a finished game is safer than deleting saves, and anything you bought digitally can be downloaded again later. If you keep older games you rarely touch, moving them to an external USB drive frees internal space without losing them. Xbox Series X|S owners can do the same from the console’s storage settings, and the smaller drive in the Series S makes planning ahead even more important.

Take-Two’s announcement ties pre-loading to digital pre-orders and confirms that the boxed version contains a download code rather than a full game on disc. That means every copy, physical or digital, ends with a large download, as NaijaGamer explained when it covered GTA 6’s price, pre-orders and the no-disc box. Rockstar lists the standard edition at $79.99 and the Ultimate Edition at $99.99, and it hasn’t announced official naira pricing.

Seven days is enough for most connections, if you start early

The safest plan is to start the download as soon as pre-loading opens and let it run overnight, when home connections are usually less busy, and to check whether your plan offers cheaper night data before you begin. Pausing other downloads, updates and streaming on the same connection helps it finish faster, and a wired connection to the console is usually steadier than Wi-Fi. NaijaGamer’s guide to steadier gaming connections on MTN, Airtel, Glo and T2 covers which networks tend to hold up at the hours most people play.

Rockstar’s pre-order announcement and the official Grand Theft Auto VI page remain the places to watch for a confirmed file size, and a figure from Rockstar would settle how much data to budget. Until then, the reported 210GB is the best guide available, and the game’s Mature 17+ and PEGI 18 ratings are another detail parents buying it for the family should check before November 19.

For anyone planning to play on launch day, two jobs need doing before November 12, which are freeing up well over 200GB on the console and lining up enough data for a download of that size, so that pre-loading can start the moment Rockstar opens it.