A special bonus is being offered to U.S. army personnel by a unit for their re-enlistment, entailing four additional days off coinciding with the launch of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI in November. Leaders at the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion, stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, believe that granting extra time for soldiers to immerse themselves in the latest installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, known for its car thefts, police confrontations, and daring heists, will influence some to prolong their military service.
The anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19 is projected to be a significant entertainment event of the year. Take-Two Interactive, the game publisher, has not disclosed pre-order sales figures but its CEO, Strauss Zelnick, described them as “unprecedented and astonishing.”
A career advisor within the army engineer battalion collaborated with leaders to link a retention incentive to the game’s launch, aiming to prompt soldiers about their upcoming re-enlistment deadlines, as stated by Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a spokesperson for Fort Stewart. Tomko mentioned on Thursday that the concept was to introduce a distinct incentives program aligned with soldiers’ interests.
According to a memo circulated by battalion commanders, soldiers who finalize re-enlistment agreements by November 14 will be granted “a special four-day pass” synchronized with the highly awaited release of Grand Theft Auto VI, noted battalion commander Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson.
Tomko validated the authenticity of the memo dated July 28, which was captured in a photo and shared online. So far, approximately 20 out of 130 eligible soldiers have enlisted for the bonus, contingent on committing to an additional two years of service in uniform.
Excitement for Grand Theft Auto VI has been mounting since 2023 when its initial cinematic trailer teased a return to the fictional Vice City, a satirical representation of Miami, along with an expanded array of Florida-based settings encompassing alligator-filled swamps. In a testament to the anticipation, developer Rockstar Games is scheduled to unveil gameplay footage next week in an extended trailer on Netflix. However, the planned rollout was disrupted by hackers who leaked purported footage online earlier this week.