US economy could reportedly lose $1 billion in a single day as 1.5 million people plan ‘sick leaves’ for GTA 6 launch: When was this seen before?

Millions of Americans are eagerly waiting for ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ to launch on Thursday, November 19. Several are planning to take ‘sick leaves’ on the day to drive into the game and visit the fictional ‘Vice City’ as either Jason Duval or Lucia Caminos.

The highly anticipated launch could however cause a significant impact on the US economy as a great amount of productivity is lost for the day. According to economics professor Jose Garcia Montalvo, cited by The Hill, the country could lose nearly $1 billion as employees go on mass sick leave on the day.

According to an International Business Times report, a survey has shown that 1.5 million people are planning to call in sick to play the game on the very day it is made widely available. Rockstar Games’ parent company, Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick recently said “I think a lot of people will be calling in sick on November 19,” at a recent Las Vegas Conference.


Also read: GTA 6 is bringing back a fan-favorite gameplay feature after 18 years: Here is what you should know about it

How was the figure calculated?

Economist and professor Jose Garcia Montalvo calculated the figure using the estimate of 1.5 million employees planning on taking a sick leave on the day. According to him each worker in America has an average output of about $70,000 every year. Hence a one day mass leave by these workers could cost the US economy nearly $1 billion in productivity.

The highest loss of productivity is expected to occur in technology companies and sectors which have younger demographics. According to an August 2026 report by the Wall Street Journal, multiple workers have been actively banking their paid leaves for the day GTA 6 launches. Some companies have even built the date into their end-of-year packages, the report added.

Similar mass leaves were seen when GTA V, Avengers: Endgame launched

According to the International Business Times, when the previous edition of the game, ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ was released in 2013 several workers took leaves to play the game. Nearly 6% of employees between the ages of 18 and 35 in cities like New York and Los Angeles took the launch day off to play the game.

IGN conducted a survey in 2013 of nearly 11,000 of the publication’s readers and found that 46% had taken the day off before the game launched. The survey also showed that another 20% of workers were planning to call in sick on the morning of the launch.

A similar phenomenon was seen when Marvel enthusiasts took mass offs to watch ‘Avengers: Endgame’ on its 2019 opening weekend. This cost the US economy nearly $3 million in productivity, The New York Post reported citing Cadena SER. In July 2011, when the final film in the ‘Harry Potter’ series was released in the US, about 5% of American workers took a leave on the day, the report added.

GTA 6 sales are expected to generate about $3 billion for Rockstar Games on launch day. This would name the twice delayed game the largest entertainment launch ever. The game costs $79.99 in the US, while the ultimate edition, which features additional weapons, clothes and vehicles, will cost $99.99. The physical copies of the game will not contain a disc, but a digital download code.

The game's pre-orders have crossed $600 million in revenue with nearly 6.45 million copies of the game being sold already, according to IGN. About 74% of this comes from sales on Play Station, the report further added. This comea as Rockstar games is promoting the upcoming launch in interesting ways. These include a 'Burger Shot' outlet in Miami, a fast-food outlet popularised through GTA's various editions.