GTA VI download could take over two days on slow UK lines

A 212GB GTA VI download could take more than 52 hours at 9 Mbps in Caistor, the slowest location in Uswitch's analysis of more than 825,000 UK speed tests. Uswitch is a service that helps households compare, switch and control bills.

Rockstar has confirmed a download size of up to 212GB for GTA VI, placing it among the largest console downloads ever.

Pre-loading for digital copies opens at midnight on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, allowing players to download the game in advance and start playing when it unlocks. The 2.8 million Britons planning to play on launch day should begin then, rather than wait until launch week.

Download times by location

At the 71 Mbps median recorded across Uswitch's tests, the download could take more than six and a half hours, most of a working day. In each of the 10 slowest areas tested, it could take longer than the nine-hour flight from London to Miami, the city on which Vice City is modelled.

• Caistor, the Lincolnshire market town with the slowest recorded results, typically returned 9 Mbps. The download could exceed 52 hours, requiring a start more than two days before the game's midnight Thursday, November 19 unlock.
• Milton, on the edge of Cambridge, produced the fastest tested result. Its estimated download time was 72 minutes.
• In the fastest locations, estimated download times ranged from roughly one to three hours.
• Turriff in Aberdeenshire recorded Scotland's slowest result at 15 Mbps, implying a download of around 31 hours.
• Llangollen had Wales's slowest result at 29 Mbps, implying a download of more than 16 hours.

Among speed-test users in major UK cities, the fastest results came from Hull, Coventry, Liverpool, Bradford and Nottingham. The slowest city results came from Oxford, Southampton, Brighton, London and Manchester. Only Oxford, at 53 Mbps, sat well below the 71 Mbps median across all tests.

Download speeds required

Uswitch's analysis establishes three practical thresholds for completing the 212GB download:

• A connection of about 10 Mbps can finish the download within two days.
• A connection of about 20 Mbps can finish it within one day.
• A connection of about 59 Mbps can complete it overnight.

Plans for launch day

One in 20 UK adults, equal to 5 per cent and around 2.8 million people, plan to play GTA VI on launch day. A much larger group, around 13.5 million people or 24 per cent, plans to play at some point.

• Among employed gamers, almost half, or 44 per cent, plan to play, while one in seven, or 14 per cent, plan to play on release day.
• Among employed gamers planning to play, one in six, or 17 per cent, plan to or may take annual leave. Almost one in ten, or 9 per cent, admit they may call in sick when they are not working.
• Only 19 per cent of those planning to play will check their broadband speed before launch, while 61 per cent expect no connection problems.
• More than half, or 56 per cent, would be annoyed if a broadband problem stopped them playing as planned. Almost three in 10, or 29 per cent, would be extremely annoyed.

What should launch-day players do now?

Run a speed test, start pre-loading when the window opens on November 10, and connect the console to the router by cable. The gap between player expectation and download preparation remains the main risk.

Uswitch broadband expert Ernest Doku said:

“Fans have waited 13 years for GTA VI, and nobody wants to lose another day of it to a progress bar.”

“Where you live makes a big difference to when you play. Our speed tests suggest a gamer in Hull could be cruising around Vice City while someone in Oxford is still a third of the way through the download.”

Doku's advice on checking the service was direct:

“Run a speed test now, and if the result is well below what your provider promised, ask them why.”

Only some providers are signed up to Ofcom's speed code. Doku said participating providers have 30 days to fix a speed problem, and customers can leave without penalty if it remains unresolved.

For the download itself, Doku advised connecting the console to the router with a cable rather than Wi-Fi, making sufficient hard-drive space, and pausing other streaming activity in the household. He said those three measures could save hours.

November 10 is the first deadline, and November 19 the fixed unlock; for customers covered by Ofcom's speed code, the 30-day repair timetable is the next policy deadline.