New Delhi: Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6), one of the most anticipated PlayStation games, is already generating massive excitement among fans even before its release. With the official launch scheduled for November 19, 2026, millions of gamers have started pre-downloading the game since the option went live on November 10.
The announcement triggered a sharp rise in internet traffic, with several countries recording unprecedented usage as broadband networks struggled to handle the surge.
Rockstar, the company behind the popular game, has opted for a digital-only launch, further adding to the excitement. The game will not be available on physical discs, with download codes being provided even to customers purchasing boxed copies.
This means players will have to download the game online, with its installation size reaching a massive 212GB, resulting in a significant amount of data being transferred simultaneously.
In the UK, Virgin Media O2 reported that network traffic increased by more than 50 per cent between midnight and 1 am on the pre-load day.
By 9 am, data usage had risen by over 73 per cent compared to the same time the previous week.
The company’s previous record for daily data downloads was broken even before midnight.
The GTA 6 pre-download surge surpassed the usual spikes recorded during major football events, such as an Arsenal Champions League match, and large Fortnite updates.
Ireland Witnesses Spike In Internet Usage
Ireland also recorded a significant increase in internet usage, with the country’s Internet Neutral Exchange registering daily traffic of 12.53 petabytes, compared to its usual 9.53 petabytes.
USD 1 Billion In Pre-Order Sales
The excitement surrounding downloads is also reflected in pre-order figures. Market watchers estimate that GTA 6 has already generated more than USD 1 billion in pre-order sales, with approximately 9.7 million copies reserved globally.
PlayStation users account for nearly three-quarters of the pre-orders, with more than seven million copies, while Xbox users make up the remaining share. Both Sony and Microsoft have said that GTA 6 is the most pre-ordered game on their platforms.
Notably, GTA 5 took three days after its release in 2013 to reach the USD 1 billion milestone.
Downloading GTA 6 will require considerable patience from gamers. With a 50Mbps internet connection, downloading the game is expected to take at least nine and a half hours. At speeds of 10Mbps, the download could take more than 47 hours. Players will therefore need a stable internet connection throughout the process.
Virgin Media O2’s CTO, Jeanie York, said that nearly half of players are expected to pre-load the game ahead of its launch, adding that many fans might even call in sick to get an early start.
Currently, GTA 6 is scheduled to launch only on current-generation consoles, targeting 30 frames per second. The PC version is not expected until early 2027.
Gamers may therefore have to prepare for another wave of internet traffic congestion when the PC version eventually arrives.
