‘Grand Theft Auto 6’ Launch Could Cost US Economy $1 Billion

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MAKURAHI MESSE, CHIBA, JAPAN – 2026/09/18: Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) exhibition booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026. Tokyo Game Show 2026 marked its 30th anniversary and took place in September 1720 at Makuhari Messe after the last day scheduled for the wea was canceled

When “Grand Theft Auto 6” releases next month, millions of Americans are planning a trip to Vice City that reports say could cost the U.S. economy a staggering $1 billion in lost productivity in a single day.

A loss of a billion dollars?

In figures:

According to the International Business Times, approximately 1.5 million American workers are expected to take time off work on Thursday, November 19 to play this highly anticipated game.

The report says an economist estimates that the sudden flight of 1.5 million workers would reduce national output by about 2%. Assuming the average annual output per worker is about $70,000, this one-day mass exodus will result in a billion-dollar hit to U.S. productivity.

Technology companies, where young people are heavily over-indexed, are expected to suffer the most severe consequences.

Even Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, is not hiding from the inevitable. CEO Strauss Zelnick recently said at a conference in Las Vegas, “I think a lot of people will call in sick on November 19.”

Planned PTO

Dig Deeper:

While many employees are suddenly at risk of catching the “GTA Flu,” others may have been planning this day for months.

According to the Wall Street Journal, some workers have actively saved their paid time off for launch day, while some companies have incorporated the date into their year-end compensation packages.

History repeats itself

The backstory:

This wouldn’t be the first time that a “Grand Theft Auto” release has caused a mass exodus of work, according to the New York Post.

When “GTA V” launched in 2013, an IGN survey of 11,000 readers found that 46 percent had proactively taken the day off and nearly 20 percent planned to call in sick that morning. In major centers like New York and Los Angeles, Cadena SER reported that 6% of 18-35 year olds missed work on release weekend.

Cash in

The other side:

While the U.S. economy as a whole may take a hit, Rockstar Games and its parent company are benefiting.

Take-Two Interactive expects more than $1 billion in operating cash flow this fiscal year, largely thanks to the release of GTA 6. According to SensorTower’s GTA pre-order tracking system, the game has already generated nearly $600 million in revenue from pre-orders alone.

The market research firm Newzoo estimates more GTA6 could secure up to $4.5 billion in retail bookings during its opening week.