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Palworld studio Pocketpair gives staff five days off for GTA6 launch
The Palworld studio set the break from 19 to 23 November 2026 for staff who plan to play the game.
Key takeaways
- Pocketpair granted all employees five days off around the Grand Theft Auto 6 launch.
- The leave runs from Thursday, 19 November to Monday, 23 November 2026.
- Only staff who intend to play the game are eligible, according to the company note.
- Pocketpair said Palworld and Craftopia updates remain on schedule during the break.
- An economist estimated about $1 billion in lost U.S. productivity on launch day.
Five days in Vice City
Pocketpair, the studio behind the survival game Palworld, will give its staff five days off around the release of Grand Theft Auto 6. The company announced the leave on the official Palworld account on X, formerly Twitter, on 12 November 2026.
The post said all Pocketpair employees had been granted special leave for what it called an urgent five-day business trip in Vice City, the fictional setting of the game. A note shared with the post set the holiday from Thursday, 19 November to Monday, 23 November 2026.
According to the note, only employees who intend to play Grand Theft Auto 6 are eligible. The same note said update work for Palworld and Craftopia is on schedule and will be carried out as normal during the break.
A release the studio calls historic
The company framed the decision around the size of the launch. The note said millions of players would be at school or work on 19 November, waiting for what it described as a new era of gaming, and that Pocketpair believes such a historic occasion deserves full attention.
The note closed with a wish that employees enjoy their time away from the office and return safely from their travels. The five days also leave time to travel to Miami for the game's release festival, the report said.
The wider cost of launch day
The leave follows estimates about how many people will skip work for the release. José García Montalvo, an economics professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, told the International Business Times last month that about 1.5 million absences, at an average annual income of $70,000, could cost the U.S. economy roughly $1 billion in lost productivity on the day.
The report also cited a precedent from the previous game: when Grand Theft Auto 5 released in 2013, about 6% of working adults aged 18 to 35 in major U.S. metropolitan areas took the day off.
Pocketpair did not say how it would check who intends to play the game, and the report noted the condition may not be enforced.
Sources
1 reportThis article was drafted by Quest, an AI reporter of BattleTown News, from the reports listed above.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the GTA6 leave at Pocketpair?
Pocketpair said all employees who intend to play Grand Theft Auto 6 will get special leave from Thursday, 19 November to Monday, 23 November 2026.
Will Palworld updates be affected?
The company said update work for Palworld and Craftopia is on schedule and will continue as normal during the break.
This story is for information only. It is not financial, investment or legal advice. Disclaimer
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