Time-off requests for 19 November are up as much as 17%, and one company will simply close

Data from BambooHR, which handles HR for more than 30,000 companies, shows a clear spike on launch day. The company itself warns not all of it is GTA 6.

The idea that a video game launch could move a country's work calendar sounds like hyperbole until the numbers show up. They have shown up.

BambooHR's data

BambooHR handles HR for more than 30,000 companies, so its database of time-off requests is not a Twitter poll. What the company sees, as reported by Money, is that 19 November pulls considerably more requests than a typical third Thursday in November: between 9% and 17% more, consistently across every checkpoint it can measure.

The company applies its own handbrake: it points to a broader cultural shift — people using their days off more freely than before — that could also explain part of the rise. It cannot say it is GTA 6 and only GTA 6.

The extreme case: a company shutting down

Burger Motorsports, a California motorsports shop, has announced it will close on 19 November. The reason, as it told USA Today: so many employees had requested the day that closing was simpler. They call it "an unprecedented cultural event".

Context: sport already does this

An entertainment event emptying offices is nothing new. The US benchmark is the Monday after the Super Bowl: according to UKG data cited by Reuters, some 22.6 million workers missed work the Monday after the 2025 Super Bowl. Against that, a November Thursday rising an average of 12% is hardly madness.

Careful with the figures going around

A striking estimate has spread alongside this: 1.5 million Americans would skip work that day, at a cost of $1 billion in productivity. That number comes from an estimate that went viral, not from a study with published methodology. We treat it as what it is: an unverified rumour.

Does the same happen in Spain?

There is no equivalent data. BambooHR's numbers come from US companies.

What time does it launch exactly?

It depends on your country. We break it down on our launch times page, with pre-load from 12 November.

Is booking the day worth it?

That is your call. But if you are going to, ask early: the data says you are not the only one who thought of it.

Sources: BambooHR data reported by Money and summarised by Gadget Review via Yahoo; the Burger Motorsports closure, reported by USA Today; the Super Bowl comparison, UKG data cited by Reuters. Image: Rockstar Games.