Employees plan leave for Grand Theft Auto VI release on November 19
New terms like GTA PTO and GTA Flu have emerged as workers prepare to take time off for the game launch.
Employees globally are planning to take time off on November 19, 2026, to play Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6), according to The Economic Times.
The game, developed and published by Rockstar Games, is scheduled for a global release on that Thursday. This has led to the popularity of terms such as GTA PTO, referring to planned annual leave, and GTA Flu, a slang term for employees taking sick leave to play the game.
Workforce data from BambooHR indicates a 13 per cent rise in paid time off requests for November 19 compared to the same dates in 2024 or 2025. The data also suggests almost one in five employees intend to take leave.
A survey of 1,000 full-time working adults in the US who are regular gamers found that 39 per cent plan to request leave in advance, 36 per cent plan to use sick leave, and 32 per cent plan to work from home. Additionally, a PCMag survey showed 8 per cent of US adult gamers and 13 per cent of Gen Z plan to adjust their work or school schedules.
Logitech announced on Tuesday that it will provide more than 7,000 employees with one day of paid time off annually to play video games. The company will also host a live stream event at its Americas HQ in San Jose on November 19.
Other organisations are also responding to the trend. Pocketpair has given employees five days off, Raptor PR in the UK is providing an extra gaming day to its team of 9, and the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion in Georgia, US Army, offered re-enlistees a 4 day pass to play games.