Will GTA 6 Really Cost the US $1 Billion in Sick Days? What the Claim Is Based On

The claim has been picked up by local TV stations, tech sites and newspapers around the world. It makes a good headline, but it rests on a simple multiplication, and the inputs are far from certain.

Where the $1 billion figure comes from

The estimate is credited to José García Montalvo, an economics professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. He took an estimate of about 1.5 million US workers calling in sick and combined it with average output per worker, which is roughly $70,000 a year. One day of lost work across that many people comes to around $1 billion. Reported

The weak point is the 1.5 million. Coverage traces it to a survey of about 1,000 full-time US employees who describe themselves as gamers, commissioned by the marketing company GameSquare. A survey of gamers is likely to overstate how many people will actually skip work, and saying you might take a day off is not the same as doing it. No government agency, Rockstar or Take-Two has backed the number. Unknown

Plan your launch day the sensible way

• Book leave instead of calling in sick. Faking illness can break your contract, and some countries' media are already running guides on how not to fall foul of employment rules. A planned day off is safer.
• Know your unlock time. Digital copies are expected to unlock at midnight local time on 19 November. Check GTA 6 release time by region, or the UK and Australia pages.
• Pre-load the week before. Pre-loading opens on 12 November 2026, so the download is done before launch night. Run through the launch day checklist.