GTA 6 reviews reportedly land on 18 November, with some outlets held until launch day
A ResetEra poster with a decent track record says the embargo lifts the day before launch, and that review codes haven't gone out yet. Rockstar hasn't confirmed any of it.
We finally have a date to argue about. On 23 October a ResetEra user called BlackBate posted that GTA 6's review embargo lifts on 18 November, the day before launch.
According to the post, Metacritic scores would start going live around 12:01 to 1:01pm CET, which is 6 to 7am Eastern. Some sites and YouTube channels would have to wait until 12:01am Eastern on 19 November, launch day itself.
Why would some outlets wait?
Nobody's said. Notebookcheck floats two ideas: Rockstar might want written reviews to set the tone before video reviews (and their spoilers) go up, or it might simply be giving the biggest publications first go. Both are guesses.
If those times are right, that's 11:01am in the UK and 3:01am on the US West Coast for the first wave, so most of America would wake up to the scores. It'd also mean the reviews arrive almost a week after preload opens on 12 November. If you've been holding off on pre-ordering until you've read a few, you'd still have a day.
BlackBate also thinks digital codes for PS5 and Xbox haven't gone out yet, with the week of 26 October or early November being the window. That'd give reviewers two to three weeks with a very big game. Separately, NateTheHate has said copies are going out to media soon.
Does it fit what Rockstar's done before?
Pretty well. GTA 5's reviews went up on 16 September 2013, the day before it launched, so a day-before embargo is the obvious bet. We went through the rest of the history in our older explainer on review timing.
BlackBate's called embargoes for a few big games before, including Death Stranding and Microsoft Flight Simulator, so this isn't a random account. It's still one poster, though, and Rockstar and Take-Two haven't said anything. When the scores do arrive, they'll be on our review scores page. Until then, anything with a number on it is fake.
One thing to watch for: review copies going out. If BlackBate's right about codes landing in the last week of October or early November, reviewers will start posting that they've got the game, without saying anything about it. That's usually the first real sign the dates are holding.
Are you playing GTA 6 on day one?
Votes are anonymous. One per browser.
Sources
Keep reading
GTA 6 review scores: Metacritic, OpenCritic and every major review
There aren't any GTA 6 reviews yet, and any score you see before the embargo lifts is fake. This is the page that'll collect them, plus what's worth knowing until it does.
3 min read
When do GTA 6 reviews come out? What has been reported, and what is still a guess
One report says review copies go out before the end of October. An earlier one said nobody would get a copy at all. Rockstar hasn't said a word, and its own history points to a very short gap.
3 min read
NewBioWare's gone, and the Mass Effect 5 director's first joke was about GTA 6
Michael Gamble lost his studio and his game this week. His sign-off: at least he won't need a sick day on 19 November. It's also a good moment to check that $1 billion sick-day number again.
2 min read