Taking leave from work for significant video game releases is a time-honoured tradition. Unsurprisingly, the highly anticipated launch of Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) has fans eagerly planning to request time off to play from the moment it launches on Nov. 19.
It’s tempting to drop everything and immediately dive in when you’ve looked forward to a game for years. However, GTA 6 is big enough that taking leave around this date is likely to raise some eyebrows. If you’re going to do so, it’s important to think carefully about how to go about it, so as to maximise your chances of success.
Your boss probably knows why you’re asking for leave
Grand Theft Auto VI launches on a Thursday, just two days before the weekend. As such, many people are planning to take both Nov. 19 and 20 off, giving them four free days to commit crimes in the fictional state of Leonida. Others are extending their time off, setting aside a week or more to play the game. With the Thanksgiving public holiday on Nov. 26, taking five days of leave from Nov. 19 to 25 can give you eight days of uninterrupted GTA 6 time.
However, whether these leave requests will be approved is a different story.
GTA 6 is one of the most eagerly anticipated video games to come out in recent years. The first new Grand Theft Auto title in 13 years, it continues a video game series that has had massive cultural impact since it first launched in 1997. It even won The Game Awards‘ Most Anticipated Game award two years running.
As such, there is a good chance that your boss has heard of GTA 6, and knows exactly what a Nov. 19 leave request means. What’s more, with so many people looking forward to GTA 6, it’s likely that others in your workplace are either considering or have already done so. Fan website GTA 6 Calculator even built a leave agreement generator, which creates a joke document outlining terms allowing workers “to fully immerse himself/herself in playing the game, while maintaining minimum professional obligations.”
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In a recent Reddit post to Australian corporate subreddit r/auscorp, user u/instanityxsl claimed that their boss had gone so far as to warn employees about requesting leave around GTA 6‘s launch date.
“In our last team meeting the team leader was saying ‘just so you know any leave around Nov 19th may require further explanation for approval, we’ve seen a large number of leave applied for this date and we’re understaffed. HR knows why this is happening. It’s that GT game,'” u/instanityxsl stated. “I was planning on taking 19th to 27th off, but a lot of people from other teams have applied [for] annual leave on these days and it’s flagged as unusual.”
While Australians generally receive four weeks of paid annual leave per year, workers in the U.S. aren’t legally guaranteed any paid leave at all. As such, taking time off to play a video game may be an even trickier proposition stateside.
You don’t have to give a reason, but don’t lie
Leave policies vary significantly among employers in the U.S., as there are few statutory requirements. While you need to tell your boss why you’re requesting time off when taking family or medical leave, the handling of other leave requests is largely left up to your employer’s discretion. This includes how much time you’re permitted to take off, whether you need to provide an explanation, and how much notice is required.
Your best bet is to consider your individual circumstances, and how a leave request may be received depending upon your workplace culture and policies, current workload, and relationship with your boss. This includes talking with your boss early on. As always, giving them as much notice of your leave as possible enables them to plan around your absence, which can help achieve the outcome you want.
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Whether to disclose the reason for your request is up to your judgement. There is no legal obligation to tell your employer what you plan to do during your time off. However, if they already suspect that GTA 6 is the reason behind your Nov. 19 leave request and directly ask you, attempting to skirt the question is unlikely to do you any favours. It’s best to be honest, and let the chips fall as they may. A few days of gaming isn’t worth jeopardising your work relationships.
Such a confession won’t necessarily destroy your application’s chances, either. While some employers will no doubt be unsympathetic to fans’ excitement, a few people on social media have reported explicitly GTA 6-related leave requests being approved. Redditor u/ddc431 even claimed that they will be closing their 18-person company for launch day, after several people requested the day off.
“if some of them are already spending an actual vacation day on this, and let’s be real the rest of us are gonna be useless that day anyway, why am i making everyone pretend to work,” u/ddc431 wrote. “so i just said screw it, we’re closing. everyone. paid day, and it does NOT count as holiday. nobody loses a vacation day over it.”
Other employers have identified GTA 6‘s release as a motivational tool. Last month, several U.S. Army combat engineers in Georgia were offered a four days of leave to play Grand Theft Auto VI as an incentive for reenlisting. Those who chose to reenlist between Aug. 1 and Nov. 14 would be eligible for the pass, which was “specifically designated to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI.” At least 44 of the 130 eligible soldiers have reportedly taken up the offer.
Meanwhile, Redditor u/Perfect-Pension545 said they may turn launch day into a relaxing day of gaming in the office.
“I’ve also considered having a ‘work day’ that is anything but that — projector, GTA, drinks and good food,” u/Perfect-Pension545 wrote. “Staff can either come in and socialise and play the game or take the day off.”
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An understanding employer is the best-case scenario. Unfortunately, even if you craft the most reasonable and considered request for leave on GTA 6‘s launch day, there’s no guarantee that it will be approved. In such cases, being willing to delay your leave slightly may help you get the next best thing. Perhaps your boss expects your office to be particularly busy on Nov. 19 (which may be the case if others have already asked for some GTA 6-filled time off). You could instead proposed delaying your leave until Nov. 23, allowing you to dive into GTA 6 over the weekend and keep playing through Monday.
Though it may be disappointing not to spend launch day playing, waiting a day or two could ultimately offer you a better experience.
Should you just wait until the weekend?
Many people are keen to jump on GTA 6 as soon as it drops. However, there are some benefits to waiting until the weekend.
GTA 6 is unlikely to suffer from the same server issues that Grand Theft Auto Online did in 2013. The multiplayer game was plagued with issues at launch, with players struggling to connect to its overloaded servers. In contrast, GTA 6 is a single-player game, so fans needn’t fear that similar server issues will lock them out on launch day. GTA 6 is also available for preload, so you won’t even have to endure downloading huge files at sluggish speeds on Nov. 19, provided you plan ahead.
Even so, it’s likely that GTA 6 will likely still require some updates on launch day. Day-one patches are the norm in video games, allowing developers to update a game after it has been certified for consoles. With millions of players expected to boot up GTA 6 on launch day, any patch may take a while to download. Waiting until after the rush could save you some strife, while also giving GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games a little extra time to patch any issues that pop up on day one.
Of course, this isn’t a reason not to request leave for Grand Theft Auto VI if that’s what you’d prefer. For those diving into big games on launch day, the energy and excitement of experiencing it alongside other fans for the first time can be akin to watching live sports rather than catching a replay. Just consider what you’d like to prioritise for your first GTA 6 session, and what will make this long-awaited launch feel most thrilling to you.
Fortunately, there’s no reason to fret even if you can’t get the time off. The fact that GTA 6 is a single-player game means that you won’t miss anything if you can’t boot it up right at midnight. Whether it takes you a day, a week, a month, or even a year to get to it (knock on wood), GTA 6 will still be there waiting for you.
