Key Notes
- UKG found launch-day leave requests about 20% above expected levels in a sample representing roughly 2 million US employees at frontline organizations.
- Zety’s 11% figure includes workers planning schedule changes as well as time off, rather than confirmed launch-day absences.
- Raptor PR gave its nine-person team an extra day of annual leave and copies of GTA VI, according to Business Insider.
Time-off requests for Grand Theft Auto VI’s November 19 launch are running about 20% above expected levels in a UKG sample of U.S. frontline employers. Rockstar’s return to Vice City is already showing up in work schedules, with a separate survey finding that 11% of respondents plan to take leave or change their hours for the release.
The figures capture growing interest in setting work aside for the game, but they do not establish a nationwide staffing blackout. They combine advance requests and stated intentions, measured across different groups of workers.
Launch Day Leave Requests Rise
UKG’s analysis covers employee self-service requests at frontline organizations representing roughly 2 million U.S. employees across industries. As of October 26, requests for Thursday, November 19 were about 20% above the levels expected for comparable pre-Thanksgiving weeks.
Requests for Friday, November 20 were about 9% higher. That suggests the scheduling pressure extends beyond launch day, although it does not show that most players have booked multiple days off.
The company’s data excludes requests that had not yet been submitted, last-minute sick calls and people who miss work without notice. It also cannot show that GTA VI alone caused the increase. A request for a particular date does not necessarily identify the employee’s reason, or establish that leave has been approved.
What the One-in-Ten Figure Measures
Zety’s survey asked 1,040 U.S. workers about major sporting and entertainment events. Conducted through Pollfish on October 6, it found that 11% planned either time off or an adjustment to their work schedule for GTA VI.
That wording matters: someone moving a shift or changing their hours can still work on release day. The figure is not a count of approved vacation requests or a prediction that 11% of the entire U.S. workforce will be absent.
Interest was stronger among younger respondents, with 22% of Gen Z workers and 16% of millennials planning around the launch. Those findings describe the survey’s sample, rather than a census of players or employees.
Zety also found that 15% were considering calling in sick for major events. That question covered entertainment and sporting occasions more broadly; it should not become a claim that 15% intend to fake illness specifically for GTA VI. Planned vacation, schedule changes and unplanned absence are different outcomes.
One Employer Is Buying the Game for Its Team
Some companies are responding by making the occasion an explicit benefit. Business Insider reported that Rana Rahman, CEO of UK-based Raptor PR, gave the nine-person agency an additional day of annual leave and bought everyone a copy of GTA VI.
James Killick, a media relations manager at the gaming-focused agency, had already requested November 19 off months earlier. The firm’s approach gives that team a way to celebrate without disguising the reason for the break, although it is one employer’s decision rather than evidence of a wider company-holiday policy.
For players arranging their own launch plans, the download schedule is another practical detail. We covered Rockstar’s November 10 preload announcement for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, including guidance to allow up to 212 GB of free storage, depending on the console.
PS5 downloads open at local midnight, while Xbox preloading begins worldwide at midnight GMT. Downloading early does not unlock the game before November 19, but it gives digital buyers time to install the files before any booked leave begins.
