5 things I'm doing now to get ready for GTA VI

Published Nov 5, 2026, 3:31 PM EST Aggy is a veteran writer and editor in the technology and gaming space. Having served as a Managing Editor for high-traffic digital publications, alongside being an editor and consultant for over a dozen sites. Aggy's published work spans a wide and respected array of tech and gaming outlets, including WePC, Screen Rant, How-To Geek, Android Police, PC Invasion, and Try Hard Guides. Beyond editorial work, Aggy's direct experience in the tech sphere extends to app development. Aggy has published two games under Tales and is always eager to learn and do more. He also likes working on computers and researching in his spare time. He knows about Windows, Linux, Audio, Video, and much more. I keep waiting for a new GTA to arrive, and every delay has made me more protective of the day it finally does. Big launches have a way of going sideways, but that won't happen for me. I've made sure nothing messes with the experience I've waited years for. Do what I did and start dealing with the small problems now, while it doesn't matter yet. Take the time off before everyone else does Your coworkers are planning the same thing I've already got plans to take November 19 and some surrounding days off. You can't really experience something like "GTA VI" in a couple of rushed hours on a Thursday evening. Open-world games this big work better when you've got long stretches to dig into them, and cramming that around a full work schedule is going to leave you annoyed. I have been updating my days off with every single delay. No coworker was going to beat me to HR to put in the time needed. You should do the same, because your coworkers are trying to do it too. File late, and you'll be fighting the HR portal, your manager, and whoever has to cover for you. Submit the request now, and you're set; just remember to ignore any work calls. Spoilers are another reason you need to take time off. Everyone wants to be the first one to spoil the game the minute it's out. It makes people feel special, but all it really does is ruin the game for everyone else. People will be chatting about it by the coffee machine, in the group chat, all over. That week off lets you take in the story your own way instead of having a twist wrecked for you between your second coffee and a morning stand-up. Finish or drop what you're playing now One game gets your full attention Walking into a "GTA VI" launch with half-finished games waiting means those titles will tug at you the entire time. I have been finishing "Graveyard Keeper," so I have no reason to go back to my PC while I play "GTA VI." Either wrap up what you're playing, accept that you're dropping it, or just put it on the shelf for later. Just pick one because a clean library means your head isn't busy second-guessing whether you should be playing something else. I've ruined plenty of playthroughs by thinking about other games and never enjoying what I had. Going all-in on a single game from day one helps it stick better. You learn the controls faster, keep up with the plot, and don't wear yourself out by hopping between too many titles. Starting with nothing else on your plate is the best way to enjoy a big release. Plan how you'll dodge spoilers Mute the game's name before it floods your feeds I am going to go dark on all social media. You can't just dodge spoilers and cross your fingers; Red Dead Redemption 2 was ruined for me. The second "GTA VI" goes live, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and X will be drowning in clips, thumbnails with huge moments splashed across them, and threads dissecting the entire plot. "GTA VI" is the biggest game of the year, so the spoilers will find you. Shocking clips get viewed, shared, and pushed hard by recommendation systems. A spoiler clip with a wild thumbnail pulls clicks, and the algorithm shoves it in front of even more people. By the time you open an app on launch morning, it's already everywhere. If you don't plan on going completely dark, then set things up beforehand. Mute keywords on X and Reddit covering character names, mission titles, locations, anything tied to the game. Wipe your YouTube watch history so it quits linking your profile to gaming stuff. Add screen time limits on your phone if that helps. The idea is to make it harder to run into a spoiler by accident. Make room for a huge download Preload it so launch night doesn't slow your download Games have become massive, and "GTA VI" will be one of the biggest. I'm pretty sure it will be somewhere past 100GB, and it could climb a lot higher. If you haven't given your storage any thought yet, do it now. On a PS5, the built-in drive fills up quickly once system software takes its share. Running low means either removing some games or picking up an M.2 SSD for the expansion slot. Just verify whatever you buy is fast enough for Sony's requirements and physically fits the bay with a heatsink mounted. Keep in mind that day one patches require extra space to unpack while installing. The game might be 150GB, but you could need 180GB or more free just to get the update through. After storage is handled, preload the game the moment it's offered. On launch night, millions of players will download it at the same time, and that crushes the servers and drags everything down. If you preloaded, that traffic jam doesn't touch you. Check your accounts and your connection A cable will treat you better than Wi-Fi I changed all my passwords for "GTA VI", and I double-checked everything on my account. Launch night has a way of turning up problems you didn't know you had. Forgotten passwords, expired cards, and a two-factor code going to a phone you ditched all seem tiny until they're the only thing between you and playing. Dig through your PlayStation or Xbox account now, verify your payment method is up-to-date, and confirm you can log in without getting blocked. For the network, if you're on Wi-Fi, think about going wired for launch week. A cable straight into your router is steadier and quicker, and it doesn't fight with everything else running wirelessly at home. Wi-Fi gets crowded, particularly with several devices active, and that turns into choppy downloads and lag spikes at the worst possible second. Make sure that your router is ready to go too. Basically, anything you'll use to play this game needs to be set up already. The time to start is now None of this guarantees a perfect launch because servers can struggle, a patch can surprise you, your game could break, and a spoiler can slip past a muted keyword. Most of these tasks take an hour or less, and they're far easier to do now than at midnight with a progress bar stuck at 40 percent. If you're going to spend a weekend on this game, do the prep now so you're actually playing that weekend instead of fixing things.