economist says gta 6 could cost the us economy a billion from sick days

Saw this GamesRadar piece floating around and had to post it. An economist is apparently estimating that around 1.5 million workers in the US might call in sick when GTA 6 drops, and that could hit the economy for something like a billion dollars. The article's takeaway is basically "bad news for the technology sector" which feels like a weird way to frame it, but okay.

I mean, we all knew November 19 was going to be a ghost town in offices. I've already got my time off request in, and half my team has been joking about "stomach bugs" that week. But a billion dollars? That's the kind of number that makes you realize how massive this launch actually is. Preorders went live back in June and the hype hasn't slowed down since.

What gets me is the tech sector being singled out. Like, sure, devs and IT folks are probably more likely to take the day off, but retail and logistics are going to be slammed too. People are going to be lining up for physical copies, delivery drivers are going to be out there with Ultimate Editions all day. The economic hit probably isn't just one industry.

Also, is anyone else planning to just not sleep? I'm on the east coast so I'll be up late. Calling in sick is one thing, but showing up to work after a 12 hour Vice City session is a different kind of pain.

Do you think Rockstar should just embrace it and make launch day a national holiday at this point, or is that too much?

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Source: GamesRadar+ · Curated content.