Gamers on slower rural broadband could be waiting almost two days to download Grand Theft Auto VI, according to new analysis from Wildanet.

GTA VI, one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the century, is set to launch on 19th November. With Rockstar Games yet to confirm the final download size, Wildanet has calculated how long it could take households to download the game on different types of broadband connections.

Early reports suggest the game could be between 150 GB and 200 GB, with some estimates stretching to 600 GB. At that size, broadband speed could be the difference between getting into Vice City on release day and being left waiting well into the next.

For a household on a 10 Mbps copper connection, a 150 GB download could take more than 33 hours. If the game is 200 GB, the wait could stretch to almost 45 hours, before allowing for game updates, busy launch-day servers, WiFi signal issues or other people using the internet at home.

At the UK median average broadband speed of 73.21 Mbps1, the same download could take between four and a half and six hours. On a 500 Mbps Wildanet full fibre connection, it could be completed in under an hour; on a 1 Gbps service, in as little as 20 to 27 minutes under ideal conditions.

Simon Hughes, Chief Commercial Officer at Wildanet, said: “For millions of households, gaming is one of the clearest examples of how quickly everyday life is becoming more data hungry. Nobody wants to spend release day watching a progress bar, especially when a big download can also slow down streaming, home working, video calls and everything else people rely on their connection for.

For people still using older copper broadband, downloading a game of this size could mean waiting more than a day and tying up the home internet in the process. Full fibre makes a real difference as it gives households the speed and capacity to download the latest games far more quickly, while the rest of the family can stay online.”

The figures underline a growing divide between households with access to full fibre and those still relying on ageing copper networks. As games, software updates and digital entertainment become larger, slow connections can turn a simple download into an overnight, or even a multi-day job.

Wildanet is expanding full fibre connectivity across Cornwall and Devon, helping communities access broadband designed for modern homes: whether people are gaming, streaming, working remotely, learning online or running connected devices. More information, including availability by postcode, is available at www.wildanet.com.