GTA 6 can be pre-loaded without pre-ordering, and here's how

Grand Theft Auto VI pre-loads are officially live allowing those who’ve pre-ordered the game to get it installed and ready to play come November 19. However, even those who haven’t pre-ordered can benefit.

This week we’re imagining gamers are amid a mad dash to clear their backlog and make space for GTA VI, and if you’re looking to maximise the free space on your hard drives, there are some handy tips to consider.

Once you’ve got an adequate amount of room, around 220GB, you’ll be able to install the game early so you can jump right in on launch day, provided you actually own the game.

It’s worth keeping in mind though that Xbox users don’t even need to pre-order the game in order to pre-install it.

As community members like u/undead_revolver on Reddit realised, the Xbox mobile app will let you install any game you want even if you haven’t bought it.

You obviously won’t be able to boot up the game until it’s been unlocked and purchased, as your console will search for a license as it’s loaded, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Who is this going to benefit though? If you pre-ordered the game digitally, it won’t make a lick of difference as you can pre-install the game now anyway, but if you’ll be waiting for a ‘physical’ copy to arrive, this should benefit you.

The ‘physical’ version of the game doesn’t include a disc annoyingly, but many gamers want it anyway for the box alone, and there’s also talk of a collector’s map/double-sided poster being included as well.

Pre-installing through the above Xbox method means as soon as you get the download code, you can input it into your console and immediately start playing rather than waiting for it to install then and there.

If you didn’t know any of this before, you do now. It’s worth remembering for games other than GTA VI too. This method is also handy for those who don't want to purchase until reviews drop.

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What’s included in GTA 6’s pre-install?

Rockstar Games

Those installing GTA VI right now are only getting the main game, i.e. the story mode. However, Grand Theft Auto fans have been rummaging through the PlayStation 5 Store’s code, and found clues hinting at the next iteration of GTA Online.

There’s talk of joinable player sessions and while that doesn’t mean GTA VI will have an online mode at launch, it at least suggests Rockstar Games is getting it ready. It’s also rumoured that GTA Online will be a standalone download.

We’re not expecting that to have any impact on the game’s install size, as it’ll in theory use all of the same game assets. It should hopefully remain around the 210-230GB mark unless there are some major expansions to the map coming.

GTA VI will finally launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19, and then all eyes will be on Rockstar to drop the PC port.

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