--- title: 'GTA Fever: Vacation Requests for Grand Theft Auto 6''s Release Date Are Already Spiking' description: The number of paid time off requests for Nov. 19 this year — Grand Theft Auto 6's release date — is 9% to 17% above usual. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 500 covers: - Technology - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Technology - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-09-14T11:51:59.000Z' modified: '2026-09-14T14:12:47.000Z' section: Technology tags: - News word_count: 581 canonical: https://money.com/gta-6-vacation-requests/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![controller over calenndar.](https://img.money.com/2026/09/News-GTA6-PTO-Release.jpg) Nov. 19 is shaping up to be an unofficial holiday for millions of gamers. One of the most popular video game franchises in history, Grand Theft Auto, is getting a sixth installment. It’s been more than a decade in the making, and the hype is real. In addition to preordering more than [5.2 million copies](https://sensortower.com/grand-theft-auto-VI/sales-tracker) of GTA 6, many gamers are requesting off work in droves. According to data BambooHR shared with Money, vacation requests for Nov. 19 are noticeably higher than normal. The HR software company found that time off requests for Nov. 19 this year are 9% to 17% above the typical third Thursday of November. And we’re still 10 weeks out. It’s difficult to say with certainty that the highly anticipated video game is the sole reason behind the uptick in time off requests. A BambooHR spokesperson said that while the trend is striking, it could also reflect a larger cultural push toward [using time off more freely](https://money.com/workers-unused-vacation-time-pto-survey/). Anecdotally, GTA 6 is playing a clear role. “I know some people that are going to take weeks off,” [one user wrote on X](https://x.com/Realjameswhite0/status/2096564364157321641), “and I’m one of them.” On Reddit, another [person posted in July](https://www.reddit.com/r/GTA6/comments/1ua8f58/put_in_my_pto_for_release_weekend_got_a_surprise/) that when he asked for Nov. 19-20 off, his manager automatically assumed it was for GTA 6. The manager not only approved the request but decided to take those days off, as well. Some employers are leaning into the excitement. In California, a popular motorsports shop sent out a memo saying that it decided to close on Nov. 19 due to the amount of [time off requests](https://money.com/get-over-vacation-guilt/) it received. “After reviewing multiple employee scheduling conflicts, management has determined that normal business operations may be impacted due to the release of Grand Theft Auto VI,” the company [said in a notice](https://www.instagram.com/p/DZdxj3yhB7y/?stkn=bXkzemZrd3k5NGNn) posted on social media. “We appreciate your patience and understanding during this unprecedented cultural event.” Video game developer Rockstar Games released the first Grand Theft Auto game in 1997. According to Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar, the series has sold nearly 475 million copies. Recent GTA entries have gained critical acclaim for their gritty storytelling, immersive worldbuilding and a do-anything-you-want style of gameplay. GTA 6 is set to take place in the criminal underworld of Leonida, a satirical remaking of Florida, with nods to real-world locales including Miami, Tampa and Key West. As the release date closes in, time off requests could get much higher. The trend is expected to be so widespread that some folks are predicting big productivity losses. *The Wall Street Journal* recently [warned of a “work blackout”](https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/people-are-saving-up-their-vacation-days-to-binge-grand-theft-auto-vi-90cda437) due to the game. Those who show up to work on Nov. 20, the day after GTA 6's release, may not be on their A game. A separate [analysis](https://win.gg/gaming-productivity/) from the gaming site Win.gg found that when people stay up late playing games, they report losing two hours of productivity on average the following day. Nationwide, that sluggishness could translate into a $5 billion loss. Other widespread cultural events have led to similar analyses that track widespread loss of productivity. Take the Super Bowl, for example. For years, workforce data firm UKG has tracked the so-called “Super Bowl Fever” on the Monday after the big game. Earlier this year, the firm estimated that [22.6 million people called out of work](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260128807980/en/Back-to-back-Records-26.2-Million-U.S.-Employees-May-Miss-Work-on-Super-Bowl-Monday-According-to-UKG), equating to $5.2 billion of lost productivity. Such an impact from a single video game is uncharted territory. And it looks like GTA 6 is about to have its Super Bowl moment. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/gta-6-vacation-requests/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Technology", "item": "https://money.com/technology/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Video Games", "item": "https://money.com/video-games/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "GTA Fever: Vacation Requests for Grand Theft Auto 6's Release Date Are Already Spiking" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/gta-6-vacation-requests/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/gta-6-vacation-requests/", "name": "GTA Fever: Vacation Requests for Grand Theft Auto 6's Release Date Are Already Spiking", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-14T11:51:59.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/gta-6-vacation-requests/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/gta-6-vacation-requests/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-09-14T14:12:47.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "GTA Fever: Vacation Requests for Grand Theft Auto 6's Release Date Are Already Spiking", "articleSection": "Technology", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/09/News-GTA6-PTO-Release.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-GTA6-PTO-Release" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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