Grand Theft Auto 6 hits shelves on Nov. 19, 2026, and if you preordered the game, you can preload it on your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S now. Preloading ensures you can quickly boot the game up when it’s released.
Rockstar Games revealed that GTA 6 is 212 GB, which will take up about half of my Xbox Series S’s storage space. The company announced that GTA 6 is available to stream via Xbox Cloud Gaming without downloading it to your console. However, cloud streaming GTA 6 might affect the game’s performance and relies heavily on a strong internet connection. To avoid those issues, I plan on downloading the game.
If you’re like me and are excited to play GTA 6 but don’t have much storage space, you have two options: delete games or upgrade your console’s hard drive. Here’s what you should know about both options.
Deleting files is the easiest and cheapest way to make room for GTA 6
Rockstar GamesThe simplest and cheapest way to free up space on your console for Grand Theft Auto 6 is to delete files and other games, which is what I’ll be doing. Uninstalling games is a good choice for folks who plan on spending a lot of time with GTA 6 and don’t intend to juggle different games. Rob Nelson, who oversees Rockstar North with Aaron Garbut, told The New York Times that he had an 80-hour playthrough of the game in February, so you can easily stay immersed in Grand Theft Auto’s state of Leonida.
You may not need to delete much – uninstalling a game like Call of Duty alone could free up nearly 315 GB, giving you enough digital storage for GTA 6. Since deleting files is almost instantaneous, you can quickly reclaim hard drive space. Because you don’t need to buy additional storage, you’ll also save a lot of money – storage prices are through the roof at the moment.
Deleting games doesn’t mean you’ll lose your save files, trophies or achievements. Simply reinstall a game on your console to continue playing, although even that may be unnecessary with a game streaming plan. If you’re an Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus Premium subscriber, you can stream some games to your console without downloading them.
Ultimately, deleting games is a great option if you don’t want to spend any additional money or you don’t mind redownloading games later.
Upgrading your console’s storage space lets you jump between GTA 6 and other titles
Rockstar GamesIf you plan on hopping between GTA 6 and other games, or you don’t want to delete many of your downloaded titles, you can upgrade your console’s storage. Buying storage is more expensive than deleting files from your console, but benefit from being able to seamlessly hop between Grand Theft Auto 6 and Call of Duty or Madden.
You can use internal or external storage for your console, but you might have to move files between your internal and external storage to launch games. An internal hard drive lets you seamlessly play games. Xbox consoles rely on proprietary expansion cards from Seagate or SanDisk that plug into your console for additional storage. The PlayStation 5 uses M.2 solid-state drives, which are installed alongside the PS5’s built-in storage, and CNET’s David Carnoy recommends the Lexar NM 790 as a fast SSD with a straightforward installation process.
There shouldn’t be any performance, quality or load-time differences between running games from installed storage expansion devices versus your console’s internal storage. Both expansion cards and SSDs can be expensive, especially when compared with deleting games.
External hard drives work, but you can’t launch all games from them
Rockstar GamesYou could also use an external hard drive to expand your storage, which can be cheaper than buying expansion cards and internal SSD upgrades – you may even have a compatible USB external drive sitting around that you can use. However, there are caveats around what games can and can’t be played directly from external HDDs.
For Xbox consoles, some older Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles can be stored and played from external HDDs. But games optimized for Series X/S consoles can only be stored on HDDs and must be moved back to your internal drive to play. Similarly, the PlayStation 5 only lets you store PS5 games on external HDDs, while you can store and run PS4 games from external drives.
Therefore, using an external HDD requires playing digital musical chairs, moving current-gen games back and forth between your external hard drive and internal console storage in order to play them. The LaCie Rugged SSD4 earned a CNET Editors’ Choice Award and could be a good option. If its price tag scares you, the Western Digital P10 offers more storage at a more economical price point.
Xbox users may not need to install Grand Theft Auto 6
Rockstar GamesRockstar announced that GTA 6 will be available to stream on the Xbox consoles – no download required – via Xbox Cloud Gaming, with some quality and time limitations. You’ll need to purchase either an Xbox Game Pass plan or Cloud Gaming hours. Folks who don’t want to delete games or upgrade their console storage can stream GTA 6, but you’ll need an Xbox One or Series X/S console, won’t get the highest visual quality and will have to pay for more playtime hours if they run out. Streaming GTA 6 could help budget-conscious gamers who don’t want to upgrade from Xbox One consoles or who don’t have the allotted storage space on their devices.
Normally, you can stream many games on PCs, mobile devices and TVs or streaming devices using Xbox Cloud Gaming or Game Pass, but Grand Theft Auto 6 is limited to the Xbox One, Series S and Series X. Additionally, GTA 6 streaming quality is capped at Series S graphical settings. So if you have a Series X, consider deleting games or upgrading your storage to run the game locally with better graphics.
Xbox Cloud Gaming time restrictions further tamp down how much you can play. Existing Game Pass subscribers in select markets were grandfathered into unlimited Cloud Gaming so long as they keep auto-renewal enabled and maintain an active subscription. But outside of certain regions, Game Pass and Cloud Gaming subscribers face limitations on streaming hours, with the top-tier Game Pass Ultimate subscription providing 15 hours of monthly cloud gaming. You can purchase additional hours, and for GTA 6, you’ll likely blow through your allowance quickly.
While you’ll need to install the full game on your console first, remote play for Xbox and PlayStation consoles lets you stream GTA 6 to other devices, like your phone, tablet, streaming device or TV.
You can make room for GTA 6 by deleting games, buying more storage or streaming it
Rockstar GamesIf you’re willing to pay a little more for the convenience of having multiple games ready to play at a moment’s notice, Xbox expansion cards or an internal SSD for a PS5 are your best options. If you want a cheaper option and don’t mind moving game files around, an external hard drive could be for you. If you have Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Cloud Gaming, you could stream the game to your console without needing more storage space. However, the cheapest option is to delete games from your internal storage and redownload them later, which can be time-consuming.
You only have a few days left until Rockstar releases GTA 6, so you’d better prepare your digital storage now, or you might not be immediately able to play. I plan on deleting old games to make room on my console. You won’t catch me slipping on Nov. 19.
Zachary McAuliffe
Senior writer
Zach began writing for CNET in November, 2021 after writing for a broadcast news station in his hometown, Cincinnati, for five years. You can usually find him hanging out with his wife, son and dog. You can reach him at [email protected]. See full bio
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