Rockstar Games has allowed gamers to begin downloading its much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI on Tuesday, ahead of enabling consoles to play the game on November 19.

Fans in New Zealand were the first to be able to download the latest offering in the gangster saga, as access was rolled out at the stroke of midnight in each time zone. Players will still have to wait to start gaming until midnight on Thursday of next week.

The game, available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, will require 212GB of storage, according to Rockstar Games, making it one of the most ambitious ever launches in terms of memory.

Depending on the quality of the connection, a download will therefore take between approximately one hour and as much as several hours.

Access over a week ahead of the actual product launch will help avoid a rush of gamers seeking to download the title crashing Rockstar’s servers due to extremely high demand.

The release of GTA VI comes 13 years after its predecessor scaled new heights in terms of gameplay and profitability.

Two weeks out from release, nearly eight million copies had already been pre-ordered, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Players who have opted for a physical copy of the game will be able to collect it from shops on Thursday. The game box will contain only a download code, however, not a disc.

The standard edition is priced in Europe at €79.99 ($79.99). The edition containing various in-game bonuses such as new weapons and cars costs €99.99 ($99.99).

The latest instalment in this gangster saga, which has sold over 475 million copies worldwide since its launch in 1997, has been eagerly awaited by fans for more than a decade.

The previous instalment, GTA V, sold more than 230 million units, according to Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive.

Industry observers say this will be the biggest launch of an entertainment product ever in revenue terms.