The real reason your coworker is taking time off this month

• Three major nostalgia-packed AAA video games are releasing this month — including “GTA 6.”
• The result? Lots and lots of workers are using PTO at the same time.
• Some companies are giving employees the day off. Others are bracing for an influx of call-outs.

November is filled with three highly anticipated, nostalgia-filled video game releases. On Wednesday, “World of Warcraft: Forever” debuted. On Thursday, it was “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” remake.

That’s all creating a bit of an awkward staffing situation.

“This is a singularity event,” Omar Soliman, a cofounder of College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving — a company that employs a lot of college-age men, a core gamer demographic — told Business Insider. “I can’t think of an entertainment vehicle or video game that’s captured the zeitgeist of the young generation like this one.”

Activision Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft: Forever” is a fresh take on a long-running massively multiplayer online roleplaying game: it’s a new, subscription-based version that sends players back to a revamped version of the game’s original fantasy world.

“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” is a built-from-the-ground-up remake of the 1998 blockbuster, now on Nintendo Switch 2 — its surprise announcement led many fans to post tearful reaction videos. And “GTA 6” is perhaps the gaming industry’s most anticipated release. It’s the franchise’s first complete refresh since “GTA 5” came out in 2013 — and reportedly had a $1 billion to $1.5 billion budget.

Lots and lots of PTO (or sick time)

There’s been a major influx of PTO requests that correspond with the game releases, several agencies told Business Insider. Workforce management tech company UKG said time-off requests for the week of “GTA 6’s” release are up roughly 20% compared to the same week in previous years. Accounting firm PwC estimates that this month’s PTO requests are 9% to 17% higher than usual.

In a survey of 1,040 American workers, Zety found that 11% were planning on taking time off for the fresh “GTA 6” release. The survey also discovered a gender gap: 19% of men are planning to take launch day off, compared to 7% of women.

“PTO is meant to replenish, relax, and do whatever you need to do to feel good,” said Jasmine Escalera, a Ph.D. career expert who authored the study. “And if that is playing a video game for the day, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Still, not everyone is letting their bosses know about their plans. 15% of respondents to the Zety survey said they’re planning to call out sick to play the games.

Gamers are already talking about taking time off

The people making November’s biggest games know exactly what some fans are planning to do with their vacation days.

“Are you taking November 4 off?” the official World of Warcraft account posted on X. In the account’s unscientific poll, nearly 60% of respondents said: “Yes, absolutely.”

Are you taking November 4 off?

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) October 30, 2026

Other World of Warcraft players online traded tips for maximizing the effectiveness of their PTO — such as taking off the day after launch, since the game was released in the afternoon.

In the Nintendo Switch 2 subreddit, there was a similar question to fans ahead of the “Zelda” release: “Have you put your PTO in?”

“I have too many games I haven’t played yet,” one gamer responded. “I’m not gonna get it until I finished most of those first.”

The games are also creeping into some workers’ online identities. The social media bio of Thariq Shihipar — who recently left Anthropic’s technical staff to take “a break before diving into something new” — now reads: “playing WoW forever.”

The crowded release calendar has also prompted the inevitable productivity jokes.

In September, Houston Rockets center Steven Adams joked during a press conference that the performance of professional athletes would “go down” when “GTA 6” releases.

“Look at all the leagues, and watch them plummet, mate,” he said. “Coaching as well, by the way. The coaching and scouts are going to be horrendous, mate, just for November, but it should bounce back in December, hopefully.”

Not every employer is bracing for the fallout.

James Killick, a media relations manager at UK-based Raptor PR, an agency that works with technology companies in the gaming industry, requested November 19th off months ago to play “GTA 6.”

“This is a seismic moment in our lives,” he told Business Insider.

His boss, CEO Rana Rahman, went a step further. He gave the nine-person company an extra day of annual leave to commemorate the big day. He also bought everyone a copy of “GTA 6.”

“It’s something to celebrate,” Rahman said.

Read the original article on Business Insider