After a series of delays, Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to release later this year and rank among the biggest launches in video game history. The anticipation is already spilling into the real world: a U.S. Army unit at Fort Stewart, Georgia, is offering active-duty soldiers a four-day pass to play the game as an incentive to reenlist, according to a memorandum that circulated on social media.

"The idea was to have a unique incentive program that connects to what soldiers are interested in," Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division, said in a statement to Fortune.

The incentive was offered exclusively to the Division's 9th Brigade Engineering Battalion, and 20 soldiers have already chosen it as part of a minimum two-year reenlistment commitment, which can extend for up to six years.

Enlistment incentives are nothing new—the Army has long used bonuses and other perks to retain soldiers—but tying one to a video game is an unusual acknowledgment of just how much anticipation has built around GTA VI. The creative perk comes as the service works to rebuild its ranks after missing its annual recruiting goals in 2022 and 2023. Millions of Gen Z and Millennial fans are expected to dive into the game's fictional "Vice City" world when it launches in November.

GTA VI is expected to bring in billions—and companies are weighing how to handle the 'rare cultural event'

Take-Two Interactive, whose publishing labels cover numerous game franchises including NBA 2K and Red Dead, has a market cap of $44 billion—and GTA, developed by its Rockstar Games studio, has been one of its most successful properties. GTA V sold more than 215 million copies after first being released in 2013, with its longevity sustained in part by GTA Online, a multiplayer mode that has kept players engaged—and spending—for more than a decade. The first trailer for GTA VI, released in late 2023, has since garnered nearly 300 million views on YouTube alone.

A series of delays has only fueled the anticipation. The game was initially expected in 2025 before being pushed to May 2026 and then delayed again to November 19. It will launch on PlayStation and Xbox, arriving just ahead of the holiday shopping season that traditionally anchors the industry's biggest sales window.

Take-Two expects fiscal 2027 net bookings between $8 billion and $8.2 billion, up from $6.72 billion the previous year, with the company expecting GTA VI to be a major driver of growth (investor filing).

Military leaders are not alone in recognizing the hype. Some small business owners have taken to social media to weigh how to deal with an influx of PTO requests.

Gen Z and Millennial men are facing a loneliness crisis—and GTA VI could help bridge the gap

While organizations have occasionally given time off for major cultural events—such as the day after the Super Bowl—or provided flexibility for events like the World Cup or Olympics, the GTA 6 phenomenon is unusual in that it is being driven by a single piece of entertainment. Its core audience is largely made up of Gen Z and Millennial men who grew up with the franchise, which makes the game's cultural impact worth watching beyond the workplace.

Young men in the U.S. are among the country's loneliest demographic. A Gallup study released in 2025 found that 25% of young American men had experienced feelings of loneliness the day before.

The launch of GTA 6 could provide a rare shared experience for a generation that increasingly spends time online but reports feeling disconnected. Friends can play together, talk about the game, and anticipate its release as a collective event. The r/GTA6 subreddit already has nearly 1 million members, months before the game's November 19 release.

Source: Fortune