When do GTA 6 reviews come out?

Rockstar has not announced a review embargo. On its own precedent, reviews publish the day before launch: GTA V's went live on September 16, 2013, and Red Dead Redemption 2's at 4:01 a.m. PT on October 25, 2018. If GTA 6 follows the pattern, expect reviews around November 18, 2026. That is an expectation from precedent, not an announcement.

Will reviewers get early copies of GTA 6?

Unconfirmed. In May 2026 Brazilian journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe reported on the X do Controle podcast that Rockstar will not send review codes, and that selected reviewers will instead play at a secured location for several days. Rockstar has neither confirmed nor denied it. For Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, outlets did receive early copies.

What did GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 score?

Both scored 97 on Metacritic — GTA V on PS3 in 2013 and Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4 in 2018. Those are the bars GTA 6 will be measured against, though scores for a different generation of hardware and a far larger game are not directly comparable.

Will GTA 6 reviews be out before pre-load?

On precedent, no. Pre-load opens on November 12, 2026, and Rockstar's last two games were reviewed the day before launch — which for GTA 6 would be around November 18. Most pre-order buyers will have downloaded the game a week before they can read a review.

analysisSpeculation

GTA 6 Reviews — When the Embargo Lifts, and What We Know So Far

Rockstar hasn't announced a review embargo for GTA 6. On its own precedent — GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 were both reviewed the day before launch — expect scores around November 18. Plus the unconfirmed report that reviewers will play only at a Rockstar-run location.

Filed by Vice Heist EditorialSep 30, 20262 min read

Rockstar has not announced when GTA 6 reviews will go live. Its last two launches point one way: GTA V's reviews published on September 16, 2013, the day before release, and Red Dead Redemption 2's at 4:01 a.m. PT on October 25, 2018 — also the day before. On that precedent, expect GTA 6 reviews on or around November 18. That is an expectation, not an announcement.

This page tracks what is known, and will carry the scores as they land.

The precedent

Confirmed, as history.

Game	Launch	Reviews went live	Lead	Metacritic
GTA V	September 17, 2013	September 16, 2013	1 day	97 (PS3)
Red Dead Redemption 2	October 26, 2018	October 25, 2018, 4:01 a.m. PT	1 day	97 (PS4)
GTA 6	November 19, 2026	Not announced	—	—

Two launches is a pattern, not a rule, and GTA 6 is not an ordinary launch. But nothing Rockstar has said so far points anywhere else.

The review-camp report

Rumored. In May, Brazilian journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe said on the X do Controle podcast that Rockstar will not send out review codes at all — no digital keys, no copies shipped to outlets. Instead, selected reviewers would play at a secured location, stay for several days, and write there under supervision.

Rockstar has neither confirmed nor denied it. It fits the company's security posture — the 2022 breach and this August's CyberLeek footage are exactly the risk that approach would contain — but fitting a pattern is not confirmation. One outlet has since embellished the report with claims about how reviewers must score the game; nothing sourced supports that, and we are not repeating it.

What it would change, if true: far fewer reviews at launch. Invited outlets would publish on the embargo; everyone else — smaller sites, most YouTubers — would review after launch from retail copies. For RDR2 in 2018, outlets received early copies in the normal way.

What this means if you pre-ordered

Pre-load opens November 12. On precedent, reviews arrive around November 18 — so most pre-order buyers will have downloaded the game a week before they can read a review.

On the US West Coast the gap between reviews and play could be short. The store listings put the US unlock at a single nationwide time, 9:00 PM PT on November 18 — the same day the reviews would land.

What would settle it

An embargo time. For RDR2, outlets published their review timing openly the day before the embargo lifted. The same will likely happen here once an embargo is set.
Word from outlets on how they're reviewing. If the review-camp report is right, outlets will say where and how they played.
The scores themselves. We will add them to the table above as they publish.

For the rest of launch week — unlock times, pre-load and the day-one patch — see the launch-day guide. For the install size, see GTA 6 File Size.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do GTA 6 reviews come out?: Rockstar has not announced a review embargo. On its own precedent, reviews publish the day before launch: GTA V's went live on September 16, 2013, and Red Dead Redemption 2's at 4:01 a.m. PT on October 25, 2018. If GTA 6 follows the pattern, expect reviews around November 18, 2026. That is an expectation from precedent, not an announcement.
Will reviewers get early copies of GTA 6?: Unconfirmed. In May 2026 Brazilian journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe reported on the X do Controle podcast that Rockstar will not send review codes, and that selected reviewers will instead play at a secured location for several days. Rockstar has neither confirmed nor denied it. For Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, outlets did receive early copies.
What did GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 score?: Both scored 97 on Metacritic — GTA V on PS3 in 2013 and Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4 in 2018. Those are the bars GTA 6 will be measured against, though scores for a different generation of hardware and a far larger game are not directly comparable.
Will GTA 6 reviews be out before pre-load?: On precedent, no. Pre-load opens on November 12, 2026, and Rockstar's last two games were reviewed the day before launch — which for GTA 6 would be around November 18. Most pre-order buyers will have downloaded the game a week before they can read a review.

Sources

Cross-Reference

More Intelligence

analysisMay 27, 2026