Can You Play GTA 6 Early With the New Zealand Trick? Why We'd Skip It

GTA 6 unlocks by region, and New Zealand goes first. Midnight there is 11:00 UTC on November 18, about 18 hours before the US. That's why you'll see guides promising a way to "play early". Here's what's known, and why we'd skip it.

On PlayStation

Reported According to Vice, the unlock follows the country on your PlayStation account, and an existing account's region can't be changed. So the method would mean:

• Creating a separate New Zealand PSN account
• Buying the game again from the New Zealand PS Store
• Possibly needing a regional payment method or New Zealand store credit

In other words, a second copy for less than a day's head start. Vice says it "should technically work" but stops short of confirming it, and says neither the times nor the method have been confirmed by Rockstar.

On Xbox

Rumour The idea here is changing your console's region setting to New Zealand, which some players have done with past games. Techloy says whether it works for GTA 6 is still unclear, and points out that the rollout information comes from PlayStation Store listings. We haven't seen confirmation from Microsoft or Rockstar.

Why we'd skip it

• It may not work. Nobody can verify it until launch.
• It may cost you another copy, on PlayStation at least.
• There may be side effects. Changing your region can affect your store, payments and other purchases. Read Sony's and Microsoft's terms first, because you're responsible for your own account.
• The gain is small. You'd be playing hours earlier in a game you'll play for months.

Wait for your own unlock time, and use that time to finish your pre-load. If what worries you is other people's head start, here's how to dodge spoilers.