The $1 billion loss claimed for 19 November in the US traces back to a July 2025 interview and no hard data, according to Journal du Geek.
Sources journaldugeek.com
The "$1 billion of lost productivity" on GTA 6 launch day is mostly an estimate that travelled far. According to Journal du Geek, it rests on no precise figure and the maths behind it does not hold.
Journal du Geek says the estimate is attributed to José García Montalvo, an economics professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, and was popularised by the International Business Times in early September. Tracing it back, the outlet found a Cadena SER radio interview from 28 July 2025, when GTA 6 was still due on 26 May 2026. The economist mostly discussed absences among young men and in tech, where remote work makes oversight harder.
Journal du Geek starts from the 1.5 million US employees expected to skip work. At $70,000 of annual output per person over roughly 250 working days, that is $280 per absent worker per day, about $420 million in total. Reaching $1 billion would need nearly $670 a day per absentee, an annual salary of $165,000. It adds that in the US these absences are mostly paid leave, not lost over the year.
In a BambooHR survey run from 9 to 20 October among 1,530 full-time employees, quoted by Journal du Geek, 18% plan to take the day off for the game: 32% of Gen Z and 27% of millennials. Avengers Doomsday, due 18 December, scores the same overall. We already covered concrete cases: New Mexico leave requests, Greensboro police and Cara Delevingne.
Read also GTA 6 on PS5: Nvidia DLSS 5 setup claims 90 fps, tested on trailer only
Absences around 19 November are real, but their cost is very likely overstated. A figure repeated by dozens of outlets can come from a single interview line. The release stays set for 19 November; the release page gathers the key dates.
Sources journaldugeek.com
Reported Reported by the press, not confirmed by Rockstar
By Daniel Jasner · GTAVIFRANCE newsroom
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