A TV screen displays a promotional illustration for Grand Theft Auto VI, the next game in the series from Rockstar Games. After repeated delays, GTA 6 will be released this November, and is expected to sell well. (Shutterstock/Girts Ragelis)

Could Grand Theft Auto VI Crash the US Economy?

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The game’s release on November 19 will probably coincide with a massive spike in absences from work, according to a Spanish economics professor.

On November 19, Rockstar Games will release its highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI, which promises to be the biggest video game of 2026, and quite possibly of the decade. It is expected to generate billions of dollars in sales, with more than 6 million copies already preordered. A standard edition will retail for $79.99, while an ultimate edition, which includes extra add-on content, will be available for $99.99.

The video game’s release could cost the US economy, too—possibly to the tune of more than $1 billion!

That might seem surprising, given that the game is in such demand. The global video game sector is one of the largest entertainment industries in the world, but one could argue it doesn’t support the broader economy. Local businesses near a sports or concert venue see regular spikes in business. Video games don’t provide any such benefit.

Even worse, businesses are already bracing for the “GTA VI flu,” where people call out sick to try out the game. That could translate to as much as a billion dollars in lost productivity, according to economics professor José García Montalvo at the Barcelona School of Economics, The International Business Times first reported. Montalvo estimated that upwards of........

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