For Grand Theft Auto fans, 19 November is more than just another date on the calendar. Some gamers have already booked several days off work to devote the first days after GTA VI's release entirely to the game, following years of waiting and repeated delays.
For many players, this year's annual leave will not be spent travelling or relaxing away from home. Instead, it has been planned around the launch of Rockstar Games' latest title.
Some employees intend to take five days off, while others are prepared to use as many as 10 days of annual leave to give themselves as much time as possible to play.
One of them is 36-year-old software engineer Bud Burruss, who told the Wall Street Journal that he plans to take five days off during the week before Thanksgiving.
As a father of three, however, he knows gaming will not make his family responsibilities disappear.
“We'll have a few days when we'll be saying, ‘Dad is very busy,’” he said. “I'm not going to play for, say, 20 hours straight and be an absent father. But right from the start, we're going hard.”
Up to 10 days off for GTA VI
Guilherme Stephano, 34, from São Paulo, Brazil, is even more determined, having set aside 10 days of annual leave exclusively for GTA VI.
For him, this is nothing new. When Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in 2018, he took 20 days off to play it.
“I'm a completionist,” he explained, describing his desire to complete every game he plays as thoroughly as possible.
The intense interest surrounding GTA VI is also linked to the length of time since the previous main instalment in the series.
Grand Theft Auto V was released in 2013, and fans have been waiting ever since for Rockstar Games' next major title.
The Grand Theft Auto series has existed since 1997 and has become one of the most recognisable franchises in the video game industry, with much of its success built on the freedom it gives players within its open world.
Players can follow the main storyline or spend hours on side activities, ranging from collecting cars to driving taxis and playing golf.
Delays have made gamers more cautious
The wait for GTA VI has been a long one.
Rockstar Games confirmed in 2022 that the game was in development, before officially unveiling it in December 2023.
Since then, the release date has changed more than once, making some players cautious about booking time off work.
Anna Ray, a 30-year-old medical sales representative and professional wrestler from Arkansas, said she intends to keep an entire week free if the 19 November release date remains final.
“It has changed dates so many times that I thought, you know what, if we're certain it will happen on 19 November, I'll take Thursday to Thursday off,” she told the Wall Street Journal.
According to the same report, anticipation has reached such a level that some players are even re-enlisting in the military to secure a four-day break around the game's release.
Major interest before the game’s release
GTA VI has already attracted enormous online attention before reaching players.
The first two trailers are approaching a combined total of half a billion views on YouTube, while the latest trailer premiered exclusively on Netflix on 27 August.
According to estimates by analytics company Newzoo, worldwide pre-orders have already reached $260 million.
Forecasts for the game's commercial performance are even more striking, with sales expected to exceed $4.5 billion during its first week.
GTA VI is scheduled for release on 19 November for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. No date has yet been announced for the PC version.
For many gamers, however, the dates are already blocked out. The first days following GTA VI's release will be devoted not to work, but to the world of the new Grand Theft Auto.
