"What if you want to take the day off when GTA 6 releases, but have no annual leave left?" Australia's workplace regulator, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), directly answered this question. The conclusion is that none of the legally guaranteed unpaid leave categories can be used for a game release, meaning workers ultimately must reach an agreement with their employers.
In a post on its official Instagram account, the FWO set up the hypothetical scenario: "When GTA 6 drops tomorrow and you don't have any paid leave left." It then went through unpaid leave entitlements guaranteed under the National Employment Standards (NES) one by one to ask why someone should be taking off. Regarding unpaid carer's leave—which allows up to two days per occasion when a family or household member is sick after paid leave is exhausted—the regulator noted, "Probably doesn't apply." For community service leave for emergency management volunteering, the response was, "Probably not this one either." As for up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave to care for a newborn or adopted child, it drew a firm line: "A video game is not a child."
That leaves general unpaid leave, which has no statutory minimum standard. Because it can only be taken by agreement with the employer, approval is entirely at the company's discretion, and the post's caption reportedly included advice encouraging workers to apply for leave well in advance.
However, the NES sets only minimum standards, meaning actual leave conditions may vary depending on employment contracts or enterprise agreements.
Moves to secure time off for the release date are taking place outside Australia as well. Back in August, the US Army's 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, decided to grant a special four-day pass in November to soldiers who sign reenlistment contracts. Battalion commander Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson noted in a memo that the pass was specifically designed to coincide with the game's release. In addition, California-based automotive performance parts company Burger Motorsports decided to suspend operations entirely for the day on November 19, the release date, after a significant number of employees requested leave.
Although the game has not yet launched, leave requests among working professionals are expected to rise further as more people look to dive into the game without interruption upon release. GTA 6 will be released on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
