The Grand Theft Auto 'Kiwi hack' the world is talking about

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Forget booking a flight to New Zealand, GTA 6 fans from overseas reckon changing their Xbox region could be enough to start playing hours early.

Liam SwiggsSocial Media Journalist

13 November 2026

5 min read

Liam SwiggsSocial Media Journalist

13 November 2026

5 min read

Photo credit:RNZ / LIAM K. SWIGGS

Being tucked away at the bottom of the world has its advantages.

Thanks to our unique time zone, New Zealand is often among the first to experience major gaming and technology releases - there was the midnight launch of Halo 3 (when gamers queued outside brick-and-mortar stores) and the early taste of the notoriously unpopular Windows Vista.

Once again, NZ has a sizeable head start when Grand Theft Auto VI launches on 19 November. Kiwis will be playing a couple of hours before our Australian neighbours, and around 20 hours before some players on the other side of the world.

Suddenly, gamers who might struggle to name a single All Black have a very good reason to know exactly where New Zealand is. The hype around GTA 6 is so enormous that some fans were even talking about jumping on a plane.

For those lucky enough to be playing on Xbox, however, there’s a well-known workaround known as the "New Zealand trick" or the “Kiwi hack”. It involves changing your console’s region to New Zealand in an attempt to join Kiwis for the coveted midnight release, no matter where in the world you actually are. But it’s not without its risks.

Reddit is buzzing with the “what ifs?”, “should Is?” and “what could possibly go wrongs?” of gamers weighing up just how much they’re willing to risk for a few extra hours of GTA 6. For some, even the prospect of a permanent Xbox ban isn’t enough to kill the dream.

How do I do it?

For those outside the land of the midnight release tempted to make the virtual move to New Zealand, changing your console’s region is easy enough. The setting can be changed directly on the console, but making sure to leave your accounts billing region as it is.

What happens once I switch regions?

In theory, that’s it. Your Xbox now thinks it’s in New Zealand and, come midnight on Thursday 19 November NZT, you could be firing up GTA 6. But there’s a catch: you’ll want to have pre-ordered the game beforehand, as purchasing through another region’s Xbox store generally requires a local billing address and matching payment method.

Does Xbox care if I switch regions?

According to internet folklore, Xbox doesn’t seem particularly bothered by the thousands of gamers who mysteriously “move to New Zealand” whenever a big game comes out.

Officially, though, things aren’t quite so relaxed. It's specifically prohibited to attempt to “circumvent regional content restrictions”, and Microsoft makes that clear more than once in the fine print you agree to when signing up for an Xbox account.

"Attempting to circumvent restrictions can affect both customer privacy and the integrity of Microsoft or partner services... Make sure that you're only changing your country/region if: You've moved to a different country. You're already in a region different from the one that was set for your Microsoft account and/or XBOX console."

In the past, though, Xbox has been in on the joke, with its trans-Tasman social media team poking fun at New Zealand’s sudden “virtual population spike” during the 2021 launch of Forza Horizon 5.

Could you get banned for the 'New Zealand trick'?

Technically, yes. If Xbox believes you’ve broken its rules in pursuit of an early GTA 6 session, the consequences could range from a warning or suspension to an outright ban.

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