New GTA 6 Gameplay Confirms Day/Night Cycle Is Shockingly Long

Published Aug 25, 2026, 6:05 AM EDT Known as 'Cyberpunk 2077's' biggest fan, Angharad is a Welsh games writer who thrives in anything related to digital storytelling. If a video game explores the intricacies and horrors of womanhood, she is there. Thanks to previous work at GAMINGbible, GameByte, The Loadout, Game Luster, Angharad has built a strong understanding of both the digital world and what fans want from it and is eager to share her thoughts and expertise with readers. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Over the past few weeks, Rockstar has been the subject of leaks once more, with everything from news of full-frontal nudity to even shining light on Grand Theft Auto VI's potential ending. With many of these leaks now being dealt with by Rockstar, it is unclear how much damage has been done, but with excited fans known for pouring over every inch of content, it is no wonder that we have a lot more information about the highly anticipated game than we did this time last month. Whilst much of Grand Theft Auto VI's plot remains a mystery, what we do know is that its open-world is expected to be the biggest and most immersive in gaming history. Set across multiple states, we can only imagine how long it will take to get from one point of the map to the other and, as part of the recent leaks, the day/night cycle will be a lot more realistic than previous iterations. How Long Is A Day In GTA 6? In Grand Theft Auto V, a full in-game day lasted 48 real-world minutes. However, it seems as though Rockstar is set to make the days a whole lot longer in Grand Theft Auto VI according to recently leaked clips. According to the math of one user over on r/GamingLeaksAndRumors, an in-game day in Grand Theft Auto VI will last a whopping 144 minutes, three times the length of a day in GTA V. "Based on the seventh leak: at the 55‑second mark, the in‑game time shows 7:29 AM (minimap)," the user shared. "At the 1:01 mark, it changes to 7:30 AM. That means one in‑game minute passes in six seconds of real time, which would make the full day–night cycle 144 minutes, three times longer than GTA V’s 48‑minute cycle." What this means is that Rockstar has packed enough content into Grand Theft Auto VI to make each day fly by despite being a lot longer. We already know that the map will be full to the brim with content such as accessible interiors, plenty of activities and sprawling nightlife, but this simple bit of math just goes to show how ambitious this upcoming title will really be. Fans Are Feeling the Hype Following this recent leak, and the realization that we are just three months away from the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, fans took to the Reddit comments to share their thoughts on the extended day/night cycle. "Good, I don't like it when it goes from day to night really quickly," one comment reads with another agreeing, "48-min cycle in 5 was way too fast." "That’s a genuinely awesome amount of time," another comment read. "I did notice in the leaks compared to the sunsets in RDR2, it was lasting a lot longer. At least now we can actually appreciate and take in the stunning visuals instead of basically sitting about doing nothing." It will not be long until we find out how this day/night cycle will come into play throughout the events of Grand Theft Auto VI when it launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 19 November 2026. Released November 19, 2026 ESRB Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+ Developer(s) Rockstar Games Publisher(s) Rockstar Games Engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) Multiplayer Online Multiplayer