GTA 6 fans are divided on the upcoming game’s day and night cycle, with people torn on whether the game should prioritise realism or fun.
Rockstar Games has always featured day and night cycles as part of their open-world sandbox games, with each entry in the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series featuring an in-game clock that represents days moving forward.
While older GTA games featured in-game days which lasted 24 minutes (i.e., one real-time minute represents one in-game hour), GTA 6 increased that duration to 48 minutes, which helped the passage of time feel more realistic. However, fans are now questioning whether that duration is enough, or if Rockstar needs to increase the scale of time again.
The Case for Longer Days
As seen on Reddit, one fan has asked others whether the 48-minute timespan for in-game days is enough, or whether that needs to be increased.
“In GTA 5 and RDR2, a full 24-hour cycle takes exactly 48 minutes of real time,” writes user ZionistControlUSA.
“While that worked fine for a long time, when I’m actually immersed in the world, just driving around or exploring details, the days feel like they fly by at warp speed. You look up, and suddenly it’s nighttime again, and a beautiful sunrise lasts for all of 45 seconds.”
They add that “with Leonida looking absolutely massive and incredibly detailed, I really hope Rockstar considers slowing things down. Even bumping it up to 60 or 90 minutes for a full day would give the world so much more time to breathe. It would make catching a sunset on the beach or cruising down the highway during the afternoon feel way more atmospheric.”
Many commenters in the thread are pushing for a longer cycle, with 60 or even 90 minutes of real time per full in-game day being the most commonly suggested targets. They argue that the rapid day-night transition makes it harder to feel truly embedded in the world during extended exploration sessions.
The Case for Keeping It the Same
However, not everyone is convinced. Other players defend the 48-minute cycle, arguing it strikes the perfect balance between realism and gameplay pacing.
“I think 48 minutes is a pretty good middle ground lowkey,” reads one of the top comments in the thread. “Its almost one proper gaming session long. Too short and it would amplify the ludonarrative dissonance. And too long, will just make it day too much or night too much.”
Some worry that a longer cycle could make individual periods of the day feel too drawn out, especially during story missions and active shootouts where dynamism remains one of the series’ key elements.
Others have pointed out that the faster pace makes it harder to feel truly embedded in the world during extended exploration sessions. One fan suggested that a 96-minute day (four-minute hours) would be the “sweet spot” – at least twice as long as GTA V, but no more than three times as long, or else time-locked activities could get really annoying.
The Weather Connection
Separately, fans have also discussed dynamic weather systems. Some recall that in Red Dead Redemption 2, storms and other atmospheric phenomena looked spectacular but disappeared too quickly due to the speed of the in-game clock.
Players hope that in GTA 6, Rockstar can make weather changes more gradual and independent of the time of day.
A Balancing Act
It’s a tricky situation, because you’d need to find a good balance between realism and fun. Having longer days would help players to be immersed in GTA 6‘s world, but it’d be frustrating for players having to wait for stores to open up in the morning, or certain characters and missions to be available at specific times.
Of course, you could get around that by giving the player a “wait” option similar to Fallout or The Elder Scrolls. GTA games already give you the option to skip time by sleeping at a safe house, too.
What Other Games Do
Video game day and night cycles vary from minutes to hours long. Historically, there isn’t really an agreed-upon day length for games that feature day and night cycles, as it depends on the type of game. However, many developers seem to agree that it should fit within an average game session.
In Minecraft, for example, days last for 20 minutes, with daylight being 10 minutes long, night lasting for just over eight minutes, and the rest reserved for dawn and dusk. Similarly, a full day in Stardew Valley (6 AM to 2 AM) lasts 14 real-time minutes, and Don’t Starve‘s days last eight minutes. Meanwhile, days in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time last a measly two minutes and 30 seconds, though that game only passes time when you’re outside of towns and dungeons.
On the longer side, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‘s in-game days are about 90 minutes long, while Cyberpunk 2077‘s days go even longer, with one day taking just under three real-life hours to pass.
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What Will Rockstar Do?
We imagine that Rockstar will probably stick to 48 minutes for its day and night cycle, but if it were going to change that rule, then it would almost certainly be made longer as opposed to shorter.
Rockstar Games has not yet commented on any details about the in-game day and night cycle in GTA 6, and given the studio’s secrecy, it’s unlikely to provide this level of detail before release.
GTA 6 will be released on 19 November 2026 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The PC port is yet to be announced.