British workers take around 83,000 vacation days for the launch of GTA VI

According to BrightHR data cited by The Sun, British employees have planned around 83,000 vacation days in November–December 2026 for the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI. Employers' costs are estimated at £12.4 million, with £3.14 million on November 19 alone. The game will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 9 November 2026 at 21:242 min read

The key facts

British workers have planned around 83,000 vacation days in November and December 2026 for GTA VI
Employers' costs are estimated at £12.4 million, with £3.14 million on the release day of November 19
Nearly 5% of vacation requests on the game's release day are linked to the desire to play

Mass vacations for the release

The launch of Grand Theft Auto VI could cost British companies more than £12 million (about $16 million) due to employees taking time off in advance for the game. This is reported by The Sun, citing data from the company BrightHR, whose study is cited by Life.ru. According to the analysts' calculations, British workers have planned around 83,000 vacation days in November and December 2026 specifically for GTA VI; employers' costs for these paid days are estimated at £12.4 million.

What the study showed

On November 19, 2026 alone, the day the game goes on sale, the total could reach £3.14 million. Nearly 5% of vacation requests on the day of GTA VI's release are linked to the desire to play the new title. According to the study, some fans are ready to quit if their bosses refuse them time off, and one employee deliberately saved up two weeks of vacation to devote entirely to playing through the game.

BrightHR's position and release details

BrightHR chief Alan Price believes employers should not judge employees for such plans: in his view, taking vacation for a video game is no different from taking time off for concerts, sports matches, or other long-awaited events. GTA VI's release is scheduled for November 19, 2026, and the game will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The previous installment in the series, GTA V, came out in September 2013 — fans have waited more than 13 years for the sequel. Earlier, Life.ru also reported, that fans had begun booking vacations in advance and saving up free days for November, and that the release date was jokingly called an unofficial holiday on social media.