This month, many video game adults – ahem, ahem – “sick.”
November is filled with three highly anticipated, nostalgic video game releases. On Wednesday, “World of Warcraft: Forever” debuted. On Thursday, it’s “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” remake.
They arrive about two weeks before the granddaddy of all video game releases: “Grand Theft Auto 6,” which came out on Nov. 19 after a 13-year build-up.
It all creates an awkward staffing situation.
GTA 6 is Take-Two Interactive’s most anticipated release Rockstar
“It’s a singularity event,” Omar Soliman, co-founder of College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving — a company that employs a lot of college-age people, its core player demographic — told Business Insider. “I can’t think of any other entertainment vehicle or video game that has captured the zeitgeist of the younger generation like this.”
Activision Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft: Forever” is a new look at the long-running massively multiplayer online roleplaying game: it’s a subscription-based new version that sends players back to a modified version of the game’s original fantasy world.
“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” is a remake of the 1998 blockbuster, now on Nintendo Switch 2 – the surprise announcement caused many fans to post videos of their tearful reactions. And “GTA 6” is perhaps the most anticipated release of the gaming industry. It’s the first complete refresh of the franchise since “GTA 5” came out in 2013 – and reportedly has a $1 billion to $1.5 billion budget.
Lots and lots of PTO (or sick time)
“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” remake Nintendo
There have been many requests for PTOs to coincide with the game’s release, several agencies told Business Insider. Workforce management technology company UKG said that demand for time off for the week of “GTA 6” release was about 20% compared to the same week in previous years. Accounting firm PwC estimates that PTO requests this month are 9% to 17% higher than usual.
In a survey of 1,040 American workers, Zety found that 11% planned to take time off for the new release of “GTA 6”. The survey also found a gender gap: 19% of men planned for launch day, compared to 7% of women.
“PTO is meant to recharge, relax, and do whatever it takes to feel good,” says Jasmine Escalera, Ph.D. career experts who write study. “And if they’re playing video games for the day, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Still, not everyone told their bosses about their plans. 15% of respondents in Zety’s survey said they were planning to call in sick to play the game.
Gamers have talked about taking a break
“World of Warcraft: Forever” launched earlier this week Snow storm
The people behind November’s biggest games know exactly what fans are planning for the holidays.
“Did you take the 4th of November?” official account World of Warcraft posted on X. In the unscientific poll account, almost 60% of respondents said: “Yes, indeed.”
Other World of Warcraft players online trading tips to maximize the effectiveness of PTO – such as taking days off next start, since the game was released in the afternoon.
In the Nintendo Switch 2 subreddit, fans had the same question before the release of “Zelda”: “Have you dropped your PTO?”
“I have too many games that I haven’t played yet,” replied one player. “I won’t get it until it’s finished first.”
The game is also creeping into some workers’ online identities. Thariq Shihipar’s social media bio – who recently left Anthropic’s technical staff to “take a break before diving into something new” – now reads: “playing WoW forever.”
A busy release calendar also leads to the inevitable productivity joke.
In September, Houston Rockets center Steven Adams joked during a press conference that the performance of professional athletes would “decline” when “GTA 6” was released.
“Look at the whole league, and watch them plummet, mate,” he said. “Coaching too, by the way. Training and scouting will be horrendous, mate, only for November, but should bounce back in December, hopefully.”
Not every employer prepares for the fallout.
James Killick, media relations manager at UK-based Raptor PR, an agency that works with technology companies in the game industry, requested November 19 from last month to play “GTA 6.”
“This is a seismic moment in our lives,” he told Business Insider.
His boss, CEO Rana Rahman, went further. He gave the nine-person company an extra day of annual leave to commemorate the big day. He also bought all copies of “GTA 6.”
“This is something to celebrate,” Rahman said.