Fair Work Ombudsman urges early leave requests as GTA 6 launch drives surge in bookings
Australian employment data show an 84% rise in leave requests among men aged 18-44 ahead of the Grand Theft Auto 6 release, prompting a reminder from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Employment platform Employment Hero reported a 29% increase in annual-leave bookings for Thursday, 19 November, compared with the same date last year. The rise is driven primarily by men aged 18 to 44, whose leave requests jumped 84% despite representing less than a third of the tracked workforce.
The upcoming launch of Grand Theft Auto 6, described as the biggest video-game release of the year, appears to be the catalyst. Employment Hero’s global insights lead Lisa Cowie said the spike can be linked to the event’s strong appeal to the demographic and noted that many employees are planning leave weeks in advance, giving managers time to arrange coverage.
The Fair Work Ombudsman posted a reminder on Instagram urging staff to submit leave applications early to avoid staffing shortfalls.
Data as of 10 November show 0.53% of all tracked employees had approved leave for the launch day, up from 0.41% a year earlier. Among younger male workers, the share rose from 0.37% to 0.69%.
When Grand Theft Auto 5 launched in 2013, it generated over $800 million on opening day and surpassed $1 billion by the third day, eventually selling more than 235 million copies.