The short answer
As of November 14, 2026, no country has refused GTA 6 a rating, so the game is legally on sale everywhere it was submitted. Confirmed Two regions show measurable differences in the files themselves, and one country came close to blocking it. Nothing has been confirmed as removed. Reported
Japan
Japan’s build is the clearest outlier. The PS5 download measures 208.725GB against 209.913GB elsewhere, and Xbox 208.74GB against 209.86GB — a gap of roughly 1.19GB on both. Reported
The second signal is the rating. Japan’s CERO Z certificate lists violence and crime, but not sexual content, which is unusual for a game rated adults-only on sexual grounds nearly everywhere else. Reported
Japan has a track record here: GTA 5 shipped there with a torture sequence altered. That is why most readings assume the missing gigabyte is sexual content rather than violence — though that is an assumption, not a finding. Full story.
Australia and New Zealand
The Australian and New Zealand build is about 700KB smaller, which is far too little to be a scene. Dataminer Tex2 identified one absent file, core_restofworld001, roughly 704KB. Its contents are unknown. Reported
Australia rated the game for sale rather than issuing the Refused Classification rating that would have blocked it, so whatever the file is, it did not stand in the way of release. Confirmed
South Korea
South Korea produced the closest call. Its Game Content Rating Board split 3–3 on September 10 between an adults-only rating and outright refusal, postponed the decision, and only settled it in mid-October with an 8–1 vote for Adults Only. The objection was frequent background male nudity with no sexual context. Reported
That rating is South Korea’s domestic 19+ category and permits sale to adults. The game is not blocked there. Confirmed Full story.
Everywhere else
By October 16, ten overseas bodies had issued adult ratings, including the ESRB, PEGI, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, South Africa and Brazil. No regional file-size differences have been reported in any of them. Confirmed
Germany’s USK 18 rating in particular arrived without the cuts German releases have historically carried, which is a change from the GTA 3 era. See our age ratings guide for what each board flagged.
What Rockstar has cut before
Rockstar has edited regional releases without announcing it. The Japanese GTA 5 changes were found by players. Nothing in the company’s history suggests it will publish a changelog for GTA 6, so the practical answer is likely to come from players comparing builds after November 19.
If that happens, we will update this page with what is actually demonstrated on screen, rather than what a file size implies.
FAQ
Is GTA 6 censored?
Not in most of the world. Japan’s download is about 1.2GB smaller than the global build and its CERO rating omits a sexual content warning, which strongly suggests changes, but Rockstar has not confirmed any. Australia and New Zealand are missing one small file.
Is GTA 6 banned anywhere?
No country has refused GTA 6 classification. South Korea came closest, splitting 3-3 on refusal before granting an adults-only rating.
Which version should I buy to get the uncut game?
Buying from another region’s store is tied to account region and payment rules, and we do not recommend it. No one has yet demonstrated what the differences actually are in play.
Will Rockstar say what was changed?
It has not done so for past releases. The Japanese edits to GTA 5 were identified by players, not announced.
Does the smaller file size prove content was removed?
No. Game data is packed and encrypted, and regional packages can differ for technical and localisation reasons. It is evidence, not proof.
Sources
- Kotaku — GTA 6’s file size is smaller in Australia and Japan
- Gamereactor — South Korea’s board nearly refused GTA 6
- The Mac Observer — File sizes smaller in some countries
- Insider Gaming — South Korean regulators on GTA 6