GTA 6 on PS5 could unlock 18 hours early with a PSN trick

You pre-order GTA 6 on a New Zealand account, the first country that would unlock it, then play from your usual profile. Notebookcheck, a hardware site, laid out the method, and Hardware Premium, a Spanish tech site, expanded on it.

The steps are simple on paper. Create a new PSN account set to New Zealand, turn on console sharing and offline play in the system menus, buy a gift card from that region, and pre-order with the balance. International buyers have reportedly had success with the retailer Play Asia.

Thanks to console sharing, you should be able to play from your own profile without going back to the New Zealand account. On Xbox it's easier: you just switch the console's location to New Zealand before launch.

In Spain, France, Germany and Italy the unlock would land at 12:00 on November 18, according to Hardware Premium. New Zealand would go first at midnight, and a user on X posted a chart matching that moment to other time zones.

In the US, the East Coast would be able to start at 6:00 on November 18 and the West Coast at 3:00. That's the 18-hour head start. For perspective, it's almost a full day ahead of the general launch, and New Zealand players would be first to explore the Leonida map.

Rockstar hasn't said GTA 6 will open region by region, and it hasn't published a time for each country. It has only fixed the date, as what we know about GTA 6 shows. Hardware Premium says the trick only makes sense if that unlock is confirmed, which it sees as increasingly likely. Notebookcheck agrees.

The idea isn't new. GameSpot documented in 2024 that console players were already faking a New Zealand location to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 early.

PlayStation Network bans using accounts from a country where you don't live, but Sony hasn't commonly enforced that rule, Notebookcheck says. Hardware Premium calls it an acceptable risk, but a real one.

You also need 210 GB free, the expected size on PS5, a number Rockstar hasn't published. Pre-load starts on November 12 at 00:00 local time, per Rockstar, and Hardware Premium expects the same regional schedule.

Only Rockstar can confirm or kill the regional unlock, and the first real clue comes on November 12, when pre-load opens. If your store shows a regional countdown then, you'll know your slot. If you plan to try the trick, set up the account and gift card early and keep the 210 GB free.

Can you play GTA 6 early on PS5?

According to Notebookcheck and Hardware Premium, yes, by pre-ordering on a New Zealand account and playing from your own profile, but only if Rockstar unlocks the game by region, which it hasn't confirmed.

What time would GTA 6 start in Spain with the trick?

At 12:00 on November 18, per Hardware Premium and Notebookcheck, versus the general launch on November 19.

What do you need for the PS5 trick?

A new New Zealand PSN account, a gift card from that region and 210 GB free, according to Hardware Premium.