Thousands of UK Gamers Face Downloading GTA 6's Pre-load For Over a Week Due to Poor Internet Speeds

It’s hard to believe it, but we’re currently living in a pre-GTA 6 world for just a few more days. The most anticipated game of all time, and Rockstar’s first since 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2, is expected to push the technical, immersion, and storytelling boundaries of gaming in ways that felt inconceivable while we played 2013’s Grand Theft Auto 5.

One of the biggest changes since then has been the rise of digital gaming, and with Grand Theft Auto 6 coming in at up to 212GB, players have already been making liberal use of the pre-load functionality on PlayStation 5 and Xbox up to a week ahead of release.

Now, though, a study by Broadband Genie has suggested that that might not be enough.

UK Gamers Might Not Be Able to Pre-load GTA 6 in Time

Broadband Genie assessed data from over 17,000 recent speed tests undertaken through its own comparison tool, and found that 870,000 UK gamers could be waiting the full week for the game to download.

According to Broadband Genie’s calculations, a speed of 2.8Mbps or under will require a week of downloading, while a home reaching a download speed of 9.8Mbps will still take two days.

The report ranks Newport as the worst-hit city for downloading Grand Theft Auto 6. Over a third of speed tests in the city (35%) dropped below 2.8Mbps, meaning a wait of more than a week, while 41% of Newport tests remained below the 9.8Mbps threshold.

Given the bandwidth required, there’s a chance this would have a knock-on effect on internet usage beyond just the console, too, meaning working from home or streaming video would be hampered by the hefty download.

Gamers in Ely (24%), Hereford (17%), and Bath (16%) also face two days of downloading, while 9% of gamers in Torquay and Bangor are expected to be waiting for a week or more.

Alex Tofts, strategist at Broadband Genie, said ”the pre-load window is meant to guarantee day-one access, but it simply won’t save everyone.

“Nobody should have to put up with sluggish broadband, and this bottleneck couldn’t come at a worse time. After years of anticipation following the first GTA VI reveal, no one wants to find themselves stranded a full week behind other players.

“Slow download speeds can come from various factors, many outside your provider's control. There are practical steps players can take right now to avoid being locked out on launch day.”

Five Ways to Speed Up Your GTA VI Download

Tofts has also shared a few practical ways to supercharge (or at least speed up) your download so you can be exploring Vice City with the rest of the world come launch day.

“There are plenty of easy ways to get the most out of your internet connection. One way is to log into your router; the details are usually printed on the side. From here, you can enable the faster 5 GHz frequency.”

Toft also suggests removing devices you don’t recognise from your router’s list of connections to free up bandwidth, and turn off non-essentials.

“Before or during the download, switch off or disconnect any idle devices such as phones, smart TVs, laptops and tablets around your home. This will ensure all available bandwidth routes to your console.”

On your console of choice, you can also swap out your broadband provider’s default DNS server for a fast, public option.

“If your download is slow, your broadband provider’s default DNS server may be congested,” Toft explains.

“You can change your console’s network Domain Name System (DNS) settings to a fast public server such as Google Public DNS.”

Both Xbox and PS5 consoles have a sleep or rest mode that lets you continue downloading, and Toft recommends enabling that, too, while also hooking your console up via an Ethernet cable for a more consistent download speed.

Broadband Still Too Slow?

It might be time to see what a new provider can offer you. You can check your current speed and compare broadband deals in your area at Broadband Genie now.

There's a few standout deals on the front page as well that are worth calling out including Sky Broadband, with 1GB download speeds, for just £27 per month. At those speeds, you could sort the GTA 6 pre-load in just over three and a half minutes.