The Japanese outlet Game*Spark spotted it first. On PS5, GTA 6 measures 208.725GB in Japan against 209.913GB in most other regions. On Xbox Series X|S it is 208.74GB against 209.86GB. Both gaps come out at roughly 1.19GB. Reported
Australia and New Zealand got a different surprise. Their build is only about 700KB smaller, and dataminer Tex2 reported that a specific file, core_restofworld001, is absent from it. A related file, core_restofworld, is around 1.28GB. Reported
What the rating adds
Japan’s CERO Z rating carries warnings for violence and crime, but it does not display a sexual content warning, which Automaton noted alongside the file size gap. Put together, the two details are why most of the speculation has landed on sexual content rather than violence. Reported
There is precedent. GTA 5 launched in Japan with a torture sequence altered, and Japanese releases have been edited for CERO before. That history is doing a lot of work in the current discussion. Reported
Why this is not proof
A download being smaller does not tell you what came out of it. Game data is packed and encrypted, build pipelines differ, and a regional package can vary for reasons that have nothing to do with content — different localisation bundles, for one. Nobody has yet compared the two builds in motion. Reported
Kotaku says it asked Take-Two for comment. Rockstar has not published anything about regional versions. Reported
The wider picture
GTA 6 has drawn unusually close attention from ratings boards this year. It cleared Australia without the Refused Classification rating that would have blocked sale there, and came within one vote of refusal in South Korea before settling on an adults-only rating. Korean outlet Gameple has since suggested South Korea may be the only East Asian market where the game is not altered in some form. Reported
If you are pre-loading now, none of this changes the mechanics. Our pre-load guide covers sizes, timings and the refund catch.
FAQ
Is GTA 6 censored in Japan?
It has not been confirmed. The Japanese download is about 1.2GB smaller and the CERO Z rating does not show a sexual content warning, which together point that way, but Rockstar has not announced any changes and a smaller file is not proof on its own.
How much smaller is the Japanese version?
Game*Spark measured the PS5 version at 208.725GB in Japan against 209.913GB elsewhere, and the Xbox version at 208.74GB against 209.86GB.
What is missing in Australia and New Zealand?
Dataminer Tex2 reported that a file named core_restofworld001, around 704KB, is absent from those builds. What it contains is unknown.
Did GTA 6 get refused classification in Australia?
No. It was rated for sale in Australia, as it was in New Zealand.
Sources
- Kotaku — GTA 6’s file size is smaller in Australia and Japan (Nov 12, 2026)
- Dexerto — Fans fear censored content as file size differs by region
- The Mac Observer — File sizes are smaller in some countries
- Samaa — Pre-load sizes raise questions about regional content cuts
