Germany has a unique legal loophole that lets 60 employees take time off work to play GTA 6 without putting their jobs in jeopardy.
GTA 6 is shaping up to be one of the biggest pop culture moments in history, and perhaps the biggest video game launch of all time. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that oodles of gamers are planning to call out of work to play it, with estimates showing a 17% increase in time-off requests for its launch date on November 19.
This trend isn’t limited to the US, either, as a fair amount of fans across the globe will also be staying home to play. Luckily, fans in Germany literally have legal protections that will allow them to do this without putting their jobs on the line.
Bildungsurlaub, Germany’s legally mandated paid learning leave for certified training courses, is offering a state-funded educational course on storytelling in video games that would give gamers three days off to play GTA 6 from November 18 – 20. Titled ‘Open World Games: Lessons from a Digital World,’ this program is open to 60 participants, letting them use this paid leave to “explore storytelling, digital culture, and collaboration through open-world gaming,” as explained in a press release shared with IGN.
Students will gather in guided groups to complete assignments in the game and use their observations to learn “practical lessons on storytelling, motivation, community-building, and collaboration.” One of these lessons explores how Easter eggs create engagement with players, examining how brands, learning programs, and teams can “borrow from that dynamic.”
“Modern learning should meet people where their curiosity already lives. Open worlds are built on stories, choices, communities, and constant problem-solving. That makes them powerful places to learn,” says Carlo Dreschel, founder of course provider Dein Bildungsurlaub. “Like many other educational providers, we’ve incorporated elements of gaming, such as role-playing, simulations, game mechanics and reward systems, into learning experiences before. But with ‘Open World Games,’ we’re taking that approach to an entirely new level.”
23-year-old accountant Victoria is one of the students who’s signed up for this course. Hailing from Berlin, she’s an “avid gamer” who says she’s curious about how this program will aid her professional life.
“I am curious to see what I can really learn from the experience. My usual day to day is driven by routine. I believe the course will break this routine and offer a new perspective to the same old problems. Maybe the experience of pulling off a high speed car chase can help me handle stressful clients in the future,” she said in a statement.
Participants must be 18 years of age or older and have access to a suitable device and a licensed open-world game in order to take part in this course. It will take place over a three-day period online, with an additional in-person event planned in Berlin.
Germany isn’t the only country getting ahead of the GTA 6 employment crater; Australia’s workplace regulator put out a helpful graphic informing workers of their paid leave rights ahead of the game’s launch. And in July, a flyer from the 9th Engineer Battalion in Fort Stewart, Georgia went viral for offering recruits a four-day pass to play GTA 6 with a “special reenlistment incentive.”
We at IGN even polled our readers to see how many of you are planning to take time off work to play the game, and the results were surprisingly split down the middle. GTA 6 launches November 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox X/S.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.