An estimated 1.5 million American workers might miss work on November 19, the day Grand Theft Auto 6 launches, resulting in a potential loss of around $1 billion in productivity for the U.S. economy, according to José García Montalvo, an economics professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. Montalvo's calculations are based on the projected number of absences and an average annual output of about $70,000 per worker, which would lead to a roughly 2 percent decrease in national productivity for that day.
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Most anticipated absences are expected to come from workers aged 18 to 30, particularly impacting technology companies. Many employees have already saved vacation days or plan to report sick to participate in the game's release, with some companies, like California’s Burger Motorsports, already stating that staff vacations might hinder their shipping and customer support around the launch.
The game is being developed by Rockstar Games and published by Take-Two Interactive, set to be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Take-Two anticipates generating over $1 billion in operating cash flow in the current fiscal year, attributing a significant portion of this to the launch of GTA 6, though no official sales forecast for launch day has been released.
Previous game launches, such as Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013, also saw considerable numbers of younger workers planning to take time off. The current estimates for GTA 6 are larger due to its heightened profile and broader console audience.