Sydney healthcare worker Josh is taking two weeks of leave around the release of Grand Theft Auto VI in late November, and says he's "not ashamed" he will be spending "the majority of it" playing the highly anticipated video game.

"My colleagues are all aware. It's funny, some have said they're jealous that they didn't think to do the same – I think a few others think it's ridiculous," he told Information Age.

A friend of Josh's has also taken one week off to play GTA VI, he said.

While some of his other friends have not yet said they will skip work to play the game, Josh suggested he "would be surprised if they didn't pull a sickie".

Australian workplaces are bracing for a spike in sick leave requests around GTA VI's release on Thursday, 19 November.

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of gaming giant Take-Two Interactive – which owns GTA-maker Rockstar Games – even suggested in April that "a lot of people will be calling in sick on November 19".

Australians will be among the first to play GTA VI when it is released on Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox consoles – and both technology companies have confirmed the game has already become the most pre-ordered title in their respective histories.

The latest instalment of the popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, Grand Theft Auto VI will arrive 13 years after its predecessor Grand Theft Auto V, and after two lengthy delays.

GTA VI was initially scheduled for release in late 2025, but Rockstar Games announced in May of that year that the game would be pushed to May 2026.

Josh booked two weeks of leave for that month, only for the game to be delayed again until November 2026.

"Luckily I had enough leave to book two weeks in November, too," he said.

Employers can expect 'major, multi-day scheduling crunch'

GTA VI's launch could push absenteeism to around 90 per cent higher than average according to Australian company Deputy, which makes workforce management software.

The firm has analysed absenteeism data from three recent major game launches – Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, and Overwatch 2 – and found mid-week releases can "trigger massive [sickie] spikes".

The public release of Overwatch 2 in August 2023, for example, saw absenteeism nearly double around its launch.

Deputy's chief technology officer, Ciaran Hale, said absenteeism tends to spike the day before a major launch because workers want to pre-download the huge files required to play the game immediately upon its release.

"Shift workers clear their schedules 24 hours before a game releases so they can play the second the servers open," he said.

"With GTA VI’s level of anticipation, it’s likely to cause a major, multi-day scheduling crunch across the frontline workforce."


Chart: Deputy / Supplied

Women also tend to consistently work more hours on launch days of major video games, Deputy found.

Josh said he's looking forward to his two weeks of leave, but feels "a responsibility to get some kind of chores and work around the apartment done" while his wife is at work.

"It'll be nice to have some days to myself to really explore the new GTA world," he said.

"In saying that, I won't only be playing GTA during my leave – I still have a wife and a cat that I enjoy being around just as much as I'll enjoy being around GTA."

NBN sees traffic rise during pre-downloads

GTA VI's digital-only release "could result in a record-breaking traffic month" for Australia's National Broadband Network , an NBN Co spokesperson said.

Those who pre-ordered the game were able to begin pre-downloading the title's more than 200 gigabytes of data earlier this week, in preparation for the game's release.

The start of pre-downloads triggered "an uptick in network use" of around 3 terabits per second (Tbps) on Tuesday, 10 November, the NBN Co spokesperson told Information Age.

While this marked an increase in traffic compared to the average for that time of day, it was "still well below the usual daily peak", they added.

GTA VI's extended preloading period "is expected to distribute increased download activity, avoiding acute peaks in traffic", the spokesperson said.

"The impact of major game releases has become less significant over time, largely because NBN works closely with distributors, who pre-seed updates throughout release periods, limiting the concentration of traffic at a specific time," they said.

"While the preloading approach will likely prevent a record-breaking traffic spike during a specific hour or day, we expect to see increased traffic across the preload and release period, which could result in a record-breaking traffic month."


Grand Theft Auto VI will take up more than 200GB of storage space at launch. Image: Tom Williams / Information Age

A major 2025 update to popular game Fortnite set a record traffic peak of 32.91 Tbps for the NBN, the spokesperson said.

"This was about 30 per cent above baseline traffic and almost 8 Tbps of increased load in the busy hour," they said.

Josh thinks it is "genius" that gamers can now pre-download games in the weeks before their launch.

"That way as soon as the game drops, players can jump straight in," he said.

"... That many people all online at once trying to download will be pretty heavy on the servers so releasing the download a week prior around the world has probably made it a bit easier for everyone too."

In a tongue-in-cheek social media post in October, the Fair Work Ombudsman's office gave gamers "a gentle reminder to get your leave request in sooner rather than later".

The agency also suggested that neither unpaid carer's leave, nor community service leave, nor parental leave, would be applicable to get time off for GTA VI.

Instead, workers would likely "need to reach an agreement with [their] employer to use unpaid leave" if they do not have annual leave available.

In a follow-up post last week, the office added, "If you need to take sick leave on or around November 19 (or any other day!), your employer can ask for evidence that shows you weren't able to work because of an illness or injury.

"Use your sick leave responsibly!"

Pulling a sickie for a game while working in healthcare would have felt "a bit dogy", Josh said.

"So I at least feel better knowing I've booked my leave fair and square."