GTA 6 install size: a launch PS5 leaves about 667 GB free

Rockstar Games has published no install size for Grand Theft Auto VI, on any platform: not the product page, not the support article updated June 24, 2026, not the Microsoft Store listing, checked on August 28, 2026. The question has to be answered backwards, from the space your machine leaves free and from what a terabyte costs.

Rockstar’s store page rules out a disc too: “Physical versions will only contain a download code inside the box to support pre-load on November 12. A disc will not be included in the box.” Everybody downloads the whole game, from November 12, 2026 at midnight local time.

What each console actually leaves free

Machine	On the box	Usable
PS5, launch model	825 GB	about 667 GB (Frandroid, August 26, 2026)
PS5 Slim	1 TB	about 842 GB (Digital Trends, November 9, 2023)
PS5 Pro	2 TB	1.89 TB (Push Square, November 6, 2024)
Xbox Series X	1 TB	802 GB (Digital Trends, November 9, 2023)
Xbox Series S	512 GB	about 364 GB (Stealthy Gaming, June 29, 2026)
WD_Black C50 expansion card	1 TB	919.9 GB measured in Frandroid’s review

About 364 GB on a Series S has to hold an entire library, GTA 6 included. Microsoft set out the offset on Xbox Wire on September 24, 2020: aimed at 1440p, many Series S games drop their top 4K textures and come out “often up to 30% smaller on average.” Rockstar has not said whether GTA 6 follows that rule.

The Sony support page for error CE-107872-5, the one a PS5 shows when a download will not fit, says: “When installing data, it may be necessary to reserve approximately twice the free space required.” The 667 GB of a launch PS5 therefore cover a game of about 333 GB while it installs.

The estimates going around rest on nothing

The ranges travelling from site to site are extrapolated from Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V, and are not repeated here. Sony’s product page talks about near-instant load times, never volume. The only disk figures Rockstar publishes are for the PC builds of its two previous games, read on September 4, 2026: 105 GB for Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced, with an SSD required since December 10, 2025, and 150 GB for Red Dead Redemption 2. Neither says what GTA 6 will weigh on a console.

A launch update lands on top of the install

For the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26, 2018, Rockstar put out a Launch Day Title Update of 3.30 GB on PlayStation 4 and 3.20 GB on Xbox One, reported the day before by GamesRadar+ and Wccftech. No launch update has been announced for GTA 6, and the precedent has a guide of its own.

What a terabyte costs, and what it buys

The PS5 takes any compliant M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 drive, 250 GB to 8 TB, heatsink mandatory, 5,500 MB/s sequential read recommended. Sony’s support page warns: “Not all games are necessarily playable with the exact same performance provided by the PS5 console’s internal Ultra-High Speed SSD, even where the M.2 SSD device’s sequential read speed is faster than 5500MB/s.” GTA 6 is better kept on the internal drive. A USB drive stores PS5 games without running them, as Frandroid restated on August 26, 2026.

Drive	Capacity	US price	Per terabyte
SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850P, PS5 licensed	1 TB	$379.99 (The Verge, June 22, 2026)	about $380
SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850P	2 TB	$759.99	about $380
SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850P	4 TB	$1,499.99	about $375
SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850P	8 TB	$2,959.99, list price $3,699.99	about $370
WD_Black SN850P, PS5 licensed	1 TB	$234.99 on Amazon.com	about $235
WD_Black SN850X, no licence	8 TB	$1,299.99 on Amazon, June 2026 (Notebookcheck)	about $162
WD_Black SN850X	8 TB	$600 a year earlier (Digital Foundry, cited by Rotek)	about $75

SanDisk’s licensed range costs more than twice as much per terabyte as an unlicensed drive of the same family. On Amazon.com on September 13, 2026, WD’s licensed 1 TB cost $234.99, SanDisk’s $309.99: the premium is SanDisk’s, and the licence buys no speed, as Games.gg pointed out on June 18, 2026. Current readings sit in our expansion SSD price tracker.

The only way to add room on a Series S

The Series S takes no M.2 drive: Microsoft’s proprietary card is the only route, sold by Seagate, WD_Black and SanDisk, as Netzwelt counted on August 26, 2026. In Amazon.com’s own buy box on September 13, 2026, the SanDisk Optimus GX C50 cost $119.99 for 512 GB and $239.99 for 1 TB: about $240 per terabyte either way, with no saving on the smaller card.

Which Xbox ships with the most room

Since August 1, 2026 a Series S with 512 GB sells for $499.99 and the 1 TB model for $599.99, figures VGC published on June 25, 2026. Those $100 buy 512 GB, about $200 per terabyte, under the price of the card. Both Series X models, Digital at $749.99 and with disc drive at $799.99, carry 1 TB: Microsoft discontinued the 2 TB Galaxy Black in the June 25 statement that raised prices, blaming storage and memory costs up more than 2.5 times.

The date the number lands

The PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store listings usually show a download size when pre-load opens on November 12, 2026. On October 14, 2026, Sony’s US listing names a “7-Day Pre-load” in both editions, at $79.99 and $99.99; neither it nor Microsoft’s listing shows an install size.