TIGGEEK · GTA 6 · GUIDE
How to watch the GTA 6 launch: YouTube's 24-hour stream and the Miami festival
YouTube, partnering with Rockstar, will run a 24-hour Grand Theft Auto VI livestream from 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on November 19, after an 11:00 p.m. ET pre-show on November 18. GTA VI: The Festival is November 21 in Miami.
TIGGEEK Newsroom · · 2 min read
You do not need a festival ticket, or even a console, to watch Grand Theft Auto VI's launch week unfold. YouTube, in a November 12 blog post written with Rockstar Games, says it will run a 24-hour launch livestream starting at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on November 19. Two days later, Rockstar's official live event, GTA VI: The Festival, is scheduled for November 21 at Mana Wynwood in Miami.
This is a viewing guide, not a promise that any of it is a substitute for playing the game. Console unlock times are in our [launch-times guide](/blog/gta-6-launch-times-preload-guide). Festival ticket rules are in our [earlier ticket report](/blog/gta-6-the-festival-tickets-miami).
YouTube's 24-hour launch stream
YouTube says the marathon begins at 12:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, November 19, at youtube.com/youtube, and that it will include live gameplay, creator podcasts, and original content. Named participants in the blog post include Caylus, Zhong and Kat, Jelly, Rivers, Jake Baldino, and Cinna, "and more."
A pre-show hosted by RDCWorld starts at 11:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 18, the blog says, and the stream "will wrap with live on-the-ground coverage from Miami." YouTube also says viewers can reach the broadcast by clicking a GTA VI-themed logo, which it calls a Yoodle, on the YouTube homepage. The livestream is produced in partnership with Entropico, according to the same post.
Those times are Eastern Time, as YouTube published them. They are not the same as PlayStation's rolling local-midnight unlock, and they are not Xbox Cloud Gaming's 1:00 a.m. ET start. The stream is a broadcast. It is not early access to the game.
YouTube also announced limited-edition live-stream gifts, a "Visit Vice City" Shorts effect, and a Culture & Trends report. The blog's view-count figures for the Grand Theft Auto series are YouTube's own and are not repeated as independently audited totals here.
GTA VI: The Festival, November 21 in Miami
The official live event is Saturday, November 21, at Mana Wynwood in Miami, presented by Rockstar Games and PlayStation. Consequence's coverage has listed Travis Scott, Cardi B, and Justice among the performers; Justice is also the composer of the game's original score, as previously reported. The fuller billed lineup and the ticket rules — including the lottery, the $60 official price, and the two-ticket cap — are in [our festival report](/blog/gta-6-the-festival-tickets-miami), which followed the official DICE listing.
The festival is two days after launch. It is not a launch-night concert.
The takeaway
If you want to watch along from home, YouTube's official window is a pre-show at 11:00 p.m. ET on November 18 and a 24-hour livestream from 12:00 a.m. ET on November 19. The Miami festival is November 21 at Mana Wynwood. Neither changes when the game itself unlocks.
Cover image: A PlayStation 5 and DualSense controller, photographed by Osh33m. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The photo is a console, not official Grand Theft Auto VI artwork.
Key facts
- Livestream
- Starts 12:00 a.m. ET on Nov 19, per the YouTube blog
- Pre-show
- RDCWorld at 11:00 p.m. ET on Nov 18, per YouTube
- Where to watch
- youtube.com/youtube, and via a GTA VI Yoodle on the YouTube homepage
- The Festival
- November 21 at Mana Wynwood, Miami
- Game unlock
- November 19; a livestream is not early access