60 Players Can Take 3 Days Off for GTA 6

Sixty players in Germany will be able to take three days of paid leave during the GTA 6 launch through a certified course. The program will run from November 18 to 20 under Germany's legally mandated educational leave system. Participants can step away from work without putting their jobs at risk.

Titled Open World Games: Lessons from a Digital World, the course will cover storytelling, digital culture, and collaboration in open-world games. It will be provided by Dein Bildungsurlaub, an organization that offers recognized courses for this form of leave. GTA 6 will be used as part of an educational experience connected to players' existing interests.

How the course will work

Students will gather in guided groups to complete in-game assignments and record their observations. The material will draw practical lessons about storytelling, motivation, community-building, and collaboration. Play sessions will therefore be accompanied by structured activities and learning goals.

One lesson will examine how Easter eggs keep an audience engaged. The course intends to consider how brands, learning programs, and teams could use a similar dynamic. Its approach connects familiar game mechanics with situations found in professional settings.

Dein Bildungsurlaub founder Carlo Dreschel said modern learning should reach people through subjects that already inspire their curiosity. He described open worlds as spaces built around stories, choices, communities, and constant problem-solving. Dreschel added that the organization has previously used role-playing, simulations, game mechanics, and reward systems in learning experiences.

Victoria, a 23-year-old accountant from Berlin, is among the people who have signed up. She said she is curious to see how the program could help her professional life and provide a fresh perspective on routine problems. In a lighthearted example, she suggested that handling a high-speed car chase might help her deal with stressful clients.

Who can participate

Participants must be at least 18 years old, have access to a suitable device, and own a licensed open-world game. The source does not state that the licensed game must exclusively be GTA 6. The course has been scheduled around the game's launch and is limited to 60 places.

The three days of activities will take place online. An additional in-person event is also planned in Berlin, although a date for that portion has yet to be provided. The opening day of the course, November 18, comes one day before GTA 6 launches.

For employees in Germany, the program provides a formal route to experience the launch without using a regular absence. Access depends on joining a certified course and meeting the requirements set by its provider. The 60-place limit also keeps this option restricted to a small group of players.

Time off enters the GTA 6 conversation

The course arrives amid increased demand for leave on the game's release date. Estimates cited by IGN point to a 17% rise in time-off requests for November 19. The figure suggests that some players are rearranging professional commitments to play during the opening days.

Other countries have also seen workplace initiatives tied to GTA 6. Australia's workplace regulator published guidance about leave rights, while a flyer from the 9th Engineer Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, offered a four-day pass as a special reenlistment incentive. IGN's own poll about taking time off to play produced a result that was nearly split down the middle.

What remains unknown

The source does not explain how the 60 participants will be selected if demand exceeds the available places. It also leaves open whether applications remain available and when the Berlin event will occur. Another unanswered point is how assignments will be divided between November 18, when GTA 6 has yet to launch, and the following two days.

GTA 6 launches November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. That schedule places the game's first day within the participants' educational leave period. IGN published the details of the program, its requirements, and the statements from those involved.