Reviewers Get Three Weeks With GTA 6 as Embargo Date Surfaces

Rockstar Games has reportedly begun sending out Grand Theft Auto VI review codes, according to well-known industry insider NateTheHate. His report also gives the date critics are expected to publish their verdicts.

In a new post on X, Nate said Rockstar has already started distributing review copies to press. This follows his earlier claim that codes would go out before the end of October.

Reviews expected one day before launch

Nate also said reviews will go live on November 18, one day before the game's November 19 release. That would give reviewers more than three weeks with the game, a longer window than many fans expected.

The extra time makes sense given the scale of the project. GTA VI is a huge open-world game, and critics will need plenty of hours to explore its map, systems and story before putting a score on it.

Putting the speculation to rest

The report should settle a debate that has run for months. Many fans online assumed Rockstar would keep the game locked down and that no early reviews would exist at all. If Nate's information is accurate, that won't be the case, and players will have critical verdicts to read before they commit on launch day.

As with any insider report, neither Rockstar nor Take-Two has publicly confirmed the review timing, so treat the dates as unofficial for now. Nate has a strong track record on Rockstar and GTA information, though.

Launch timing

The game goes live at midnight in New Zealand, one of the first regions to get it. Reviews landing on November 18 means most players should have time to read them before the game unlocks in their own time zone.

The report comes alongside fresh data showing just how strong pre-order demand for the game has been.