- In Caistor, Lincolnshire, where Uswitch speed tests recorded the slowest speeds, GTA VI could take more than 52 hours to download, longer than five flights from London to Miami[1]
- Speed tests in Hull suggest a download of around three hours, while Oxford's could take almost nine, so Hull gamers could be playing before Oxford are a third of the way through[1]
- At the median speed recorded in Uswitch speed tests, the 212GB game could take more than six and a half hours, most of a working day[1]
- 2.8 million UK adults (5%) plan to play GTA VI on its launch day of 19 November[2]
- Almost one in 10 (9%) of those planning to play may call in sick, yet fewer than one in five (19%) will check their broadband first[3][4]
- Uswitch broadband expert, Ernest Doku, is advising gamers to start the download as soon as pre-loading opens at midnight on Tuesday 10 November, nine days before launch
Grand Theft Auto VI could take more than two days to download in the UK's slowest broadband spot, as recorded by Uswitch speed tests, reveals new analysis of more than 825,000 speed tests by Uswitch.com, the service helping households compare, switch and control their bills.
Pre-loading, which lets gamers download the game in advance so it is ready to play the moment it unlocks, opens from midnight on Tuesday 10 November for digital copies. The 2.8 million Brits planning to play on launch day are being advised to start the download as soon as it opens, rather than leave it to launch week.
The game, confirmed by Rockstar at up to a mammoth 212GB, is one of the largest console downloads ever. At the median speed recorded in Uswitch speed tests, 71 Mbps, it could take more than six and a half hours, most of a working day.
In each of the 10 slowest areas tested, it could take longer than the nine-hour flight from London to Miami, the city Vice City is modelled on.
In Caistor, the Lincolnshire market town where speed tests recorded the slowest speeds, speed tests typically returned 9 Mbps, so the download could take more than 52 hours. That is long enough to fly from London to Miami five times, and it means a gamer in Caistor would need to start more than two days before launch to be playing when the game unlocks at midnight on Thursday. In Milton, on the edge of Cambridge, the fastest area tested, it could take 72 minutes.[1]
At the median speeds recorded, the download could take more than two days in the slowest area tested, Caistor, and roughly one to three hours in the fastest areas. A connection needs about 10 Mbps to finish within two days, 20 Mbps to finish within a day, and 59 Mbps to finish overnight.[1]
Turriff in Aberdeenshire had the slowest result in Scotland (15 Mbps, around 31 hours) and Llangollen the slowest in Wales (29 Mbps, more than 16 hours).
The 10 slowest and 10 fastest areas tested:
Table: Slowest and fastest areas for the GTA VI download, by median speed recorded in Uswitch speed tests
| Slowest areas | Median speed (Mbps) | Fastest areas | Median speed (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caistor, Lincolnshire | 9 | Milton, Cambridgeshire | 388 |
| Turriff, Aberdeenshire | 15 | East Craigs, Edinburgh | 311 |
| Whitwick, Leicestershire | 24 | Annalong, County Down | 211 |
| Wedmore, Somerset | 25 | Bearwood, Smethwick | 173 |
| Wellow, Hampshire | 26 | Holytown, North Lanarkshire | 166 |
| Bosham, West Sussex | 26 | Grove Hill, Middlesbrough | 166 |
| Wickham Market, Suffolk | 28 | Marfleet, Hull | 166 |
| Aylesbeare, Devon | 28 | Evington, Leicester | 166 |
| Hollesley, Suffolk | 28 | Craigiebank, Dundee | 164 |
| Contin, Highland | 28 | Bransholme, Hull | 164 |
Among major UK cities, the fastest results came from speed test users in Hull, Coventry, Liverpool, Bradford and Nottingham, and the slowest of the big cities from Oxford, Southampton, Brighton, London and Manchester, though only Oxford (53 Mbps) sits well below the 71 Mbps median across all tests.
Estimated download times for major UK cities:[1]
Table: Fastest and slowest UK cities for the GTA VI download, by median speed recorded in Uswitch speed tests
| Fastest cities | Median speed (Mbps) | Slowest of the big cities | Median speed (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 157 | Oxford | 53 |
| Coventry | 137 | Southampton | 69 |
| Liverpool | 132 | Brighton | 71 |
| Bradford | 127 | London | 72 |
| Nottingham | 127 | Manchester | 74 |
One in 20 UK adults (5%), around 2.8 million people, plan to play GTA VI on launch day, while around 13.5 million (24%) plan to play it at some point.[2] Among employed gamers, almost half (44%) plan to play and one in seven (14%) plan to play on the day it comes out.[5]
Of employed gamers planning to play, one in six (17%) plan to or may take annual leave, and almost one in ten (9%) admit they may call in sick when they are not.[3]
Few are checking their connection first. Six in 10 (61%) of those planning to play expect no problems, and fewer than one in five (19%) will check their broadband speed before launch.[4]
More than half (56%) of those planning to play say they would be annoyed if a problem with their broadband stopped them playing on the day they had planned to, and almost three in 10 (29%) would be extremely annoyed.[6]
Uswitch is advising gamers to run a free speed test this week and compare the result with the speed their provider guaranteed. Under Ofcom's broadband speeds code of practice, customers of providers signed up to the code whose speed stays below the guaranteed minimum can leave their contract without penalty if it is not fixed within 30 days.
Ernest Doku, Uswitch broadband expert, says: "Fans have waited 13 years for GTA VI, and nobody wants to lose another day of it to a progress bar.
"Where you live makes a big difference to when you play. Our speed tests suggest a gamer in Hull could be cruising around Vice City while someone in Oxford is still a third of the way through the download.
"Run a speed test now, and if the result is well below what your provider promised, ask them why. Only some providers are signed up to Ofcom's speed code, but if yours is, they have 30 days to fix it, and if they can't, you can leave without a penalty.
"Pre-loading opens from midnight on Tuesday 10 November, so start it as soon as you can to be ready to touch down in Vice City on the 19th. Plug the console into the router with a cable rather than using Wi-Fi, make some much-needed space on the hard drive, and pause the rest of the house's streaming activity while it downloads. Those three things can save hours."
Visit Uswitch.com to run a free broadband speed test and compare deals in your area.
-ENDS-
For more information
Harriet Atkinson | Telecoms PR Manager
harriet.atkinson@rvu.co.uk
Twitter: @UswitchPR
Notes to editors
Research conducted online by OnePoll, 22 to 29 September 2026, among 1,000 UK employed adults who play video games. Questions on time off and preparation were asked of the 438 respondents who plan to play GTA VI. Opinium surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults between 3 and 6 November 2026; results are weighted to be nationally representative. Population figures apply the percentages to the ONS mid-2024 estimate of the UK population aged 18 and over (55.5 million).
1. Uswitch analysis of 825,170 broadband speed tests run on uswitch.com between 4 November 2025 and 3 November 2026. Tests were grouped by the telephone exchange area serving the connection (areas with fewer than 100 tests excluded) and by city using geographic boundaries around each urban core. Rankings use the median download speed recorded in each area, rounded to the nearest Mbps. Six areas recorded a median of 28 Mbps; the table shows four of them, the others being Calstock, Cornwall and Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire. Download times are shown to the minute, with seconds dropped. Estimated download times assume a 212GB game downloaded continuously at that median speed (212GB x 8,000 megabits/speed in Mbps); real-world downloads depend on server demand, congestion and console storage speed and will typically take longer. Speed tests are run by people choosing to test their connection, so figures describe speeds recorded by Uswitch speed test users in each area rather than the speeds available there. Rockstar confirmed on 3 November 2026 that the pre-load requires up to 212GB depending on platform. Minimum speeds are 212GB x 8,000 megabits divided by the seconds available: 9.8 Mbps over 48 hours, 19.6 Mbps over 24 hours and 58.9 Mbps over 8 hours. Flight time: British Airways gives London Heathrow to Miami as roughly nine hours. Vice City is the fictional city in the Grand Theft Auto series based on Miami. GTA V was released in September 2013. Hull to Oxford driving time of around 3 hours 12 minutes (routecalculator.co.uk, 176 miles). Rockstar announced on 3 November 2026 that pre-loading for digital copies opens on 10 November (PlayStation 5 from midnight local time, Xbox Series X|S from 00:00 GMT), boxed copies with a download code from 12 November, and the game unlocks at midnight local time on 19 November.
2. Q3a. Grand Theft Auto VI is released on 19 November. Do you plan to play it? Yes, on launch day: 5%. Yes, not on launch day but within the first week: 6%. Yes, at some point after the first week: 13%. No: 71%. Don't know: 5%. NET: Yes: 24%. Base: 2,000 UK adults.
3. Q3. Which, if any, of the following are you planning to do around the release of GTA 6 specifically so you can play? I work from home and may use some of my working time to play: 30%. I plan to/may take annual leave: 17%. I may take unpaid leave or otherwise arrange time away from work: 14%. I may take sick leave despite not being unwell: 9%. None of the above: 46%. Base: 438 who plan to play.
4. Q4. What, if anything, are you planning to do ahead of the release of GTA 6? Upgrade my console: 22%. Clear space on my console: 22%. Check my broadband speed: 19%. Upgrade my broadband package: 12%. Switch broadband provider: 7%. Not sure / nothing in particular: 40%. Base: 438 who plan to play. Q5a. To what extent, if at all, do you expect to experience issues with your broadband connection when downloading GTA 6? I expect no issues: 61%. I may experience some minor issues: 27%. I expect my broadband could struggle: 5%. I don't think my current broadband will be suitable: 1%. Not sure: 6%. Base: 438 who plan to play.
5. Q1. Which of the following statements best describe you? Plans to play GTA 6 (net): 44%. I plan to play GTA 6 as soon as it is released: 14%. I plan to play GTA 6, but not immediately after its release: 29%. I do not plan to play GTA 6: 43%. Not sure: 13%. Base: 1,000.
6. Q4. If a problem with your home broadband meant you couldn't play GTA VI on the day you planned to, how annoyed would you be, if at all? Extremely annoyed: 29%. Slightly annoyed: 27%. Neutral: 18%. Not that annoyed: 17%. Not at all annoyed: 9%. Don't know/not sure: 0%. NET: Annoyed: 56%. NET: Not annoyed: 26%. Base: 488 UK adults who plan to play GTA VI.