The massively anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, and before the game has even shipped, some people are already worried about the American economy. According to outside reporting, one economist has estimated that as many as 1.5 million American workers could call in sick on release day just to play GTA 6 first, costing the United States as much as one billion dollars in lost productivity for a single day. Rockstar looks set to conquer more than the games market — it may threaten America’s attendance rate at work too.
Tech Could Be the Worst Hit
The estimate traces back to analysis by José García Montalvo, an economics professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain. The report points out that men between 18 and 30 are the group most likely to take a sick day for GTA 6, and that the tech industry is expected to suffer the biggest impact. Even employees who do show up for work may end up being less productive after an all-night gaming session, or because they spend the working day talking about what happened in the game. It is worth keeping in mind, however, that the 1.5 million figure and the one billion dollar loss are not official statistics, and the full calculation behind them has not been independently verified.
Bosses Worry, Rockstar Cashes In
Here is the twist: some companies appear to have prepared for the worst, with several businesses announcing they will simply shut down on the day GTA 6 launches so that they are not caught in a wave of staff absences. While mass absence may dent short-term productivity, Rockstar Games and its parent company Take-Two Interactive stand to gain enormously from sales of the game itself. Put another way, American businesses may be busy worrying about empty desks while the game publisher prepares for a flood of players. Whether GTA 6 can really make 1.5 million people collectively “fall ill” is another question, and one that will only be answered on November 19.