GTA 6 preload congests YouFibre's network in Yorkshire

SDxCentral reports a demand figure the article did not have: Virgin Media O2 cites that 46% of players were expected to download GTA VI before launch day. The same outlet says the day's data volume on 10 November passed the previous daily record before the day was over.

That changes the picture: the strain on networks is probably not over. The Independent notes that boxed copies from physical stores, which carry a download code, will not be available until 12 November, so more downloads are still to come. Further detail at SDxCentral.

There is now a figure from outside the UK. German provider 1&1 told Golem that on the night of 9 to 10 November its PlayStation Network and Xbox Live traffic reached roughly ten times the usual night level without overloading the network, as reported by Fomoera. Golem cautions that not every extra bit of traffic can be tied to GTA 6 with certainty.

On Virgin Media O2, Yahoo Tech adds that by 9 a.m. on 10 November the data downloaded across its network was 73.3% above the previous week, and that the preload needs up to 212 GB depending on the device.

Virgin Media O2 says GTA VI pre-loading caused the biggest traffic peak and the highest daily data volume in its history in the UK, as reported by Rockstar Intel. Between 12am and 1am on Tuesday 10 November, its broadband traffic rose 51.6% compared with the previous week. The evening peak beat the earlier record, set during Arsenal v Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, by 3.8%, and the daily volume beat the Fortnite mini season record by 4%.

This changes what we published: there is now data from a second British provider, although Virgin Media O2 does not mention any outage.

Rockstar Games has set the GTA 6 release for November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and players are already downloading the game ahead of time. Dexerto, a gaming news site, reports that this demand is already straining internet providers. It also links to an earlier story saying Netflix went down when millions tuned in for "An Extended Look". This time the warning comes from an ISP.

YouFibre, a UK internet provider, told customers about a network capacity issue caused by high demand for GTA 6 downloads. The result was lower speeds across the service.

According to Dexerto, the email named the cause plainly: the company knew about the problem and blamed the game downloads. Chelot gave the technical side on X. One of the company's Broadband Network Gateways (BNG) was struggling, and his team was trying to rebalance the traffic.

Dexerto adds that the problem reaches even people who aren't planning to play.

Dexerto opens by saying demand is straining internet providers, plural, but it documents only the YouFibre case. Chelot posted his message on November 10 and Dexerto picked it up on November 11.

It reads like an executive explaining himself in public: he names the cause, says what his team is doing and asks customers to be patient.

According to Dexerto, YouFibre sent a second email saying its network team had finished emergency traffic management. That spread the surge across the wider network, and service returned to normal. The disruption didn't last long.

The company left one caveat. People actively downloading GTA 6 could still see slower speeds, because the game download was being prioritized.

If YouFibre is your provider and you're downloading GTA 6, you may see lower speeds, since the company itself says it prioritizes that download. For other providers, the sources report no similar warnings.

Here's a practical tip: the preload exists so you only have to press play on November 19, and anyone who leaves the download for that day competes for bandwidth with everyone else. While it finishes, you can read our GTA 6 beginner's guide.

YouFibre hasn't said how many customers were affected or how long the congestion lasted, and Rockstar hasn't commented on the warning. There's also no data from other providers, in the UK or elsewhere.

Dexerto reads it as an early sign of how popular the game is expected to be. The next test comes on November 19, when GTA 6 goes on sale: that day will show whether other providers publish notices like YouFibre's.

Which provider had problems because of the GTA 6 preload?

YouFibre, in Yorkshire, according to CEO Jeremy Chelot on X and a customer email reported by Dexerto.

Has YouFibre fixed the problem?

Yes, per Dexerto: a second email said service returned to normal, though people downloading GTA 6 may still see lower speeds.

Has Rockstar said anything about the congestion?

The sources include no comment from Rockstar Games on YouFibre's warning.