A unit within the U.S. Army is incentivizing its soldiers to re-enlist by offering them a special bonus package that includes four additional days off coinciding with the launch of the highly anticipated video game, Grand Theft Auto VI. The 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, is behind this initiative, aiming to entice troops to extend their military service by providing them with leisure time to immerse themselves in the latest installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Scheduled for release on November 19, Grand Theft Auto VI is anticipated to be a significant entertainment event of the year. Take-Two Interactive, the game’s publisher, has not disclosed pre-order sales figures, but CEO Strauss Zelnick described them as “unprecedented and astonishing.”
According to Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a spokesperson for Fort Stewart, a career counselor within the army engineer battalion collaborated with commanders to link a retention benefit to the launch of the video game. The primary aim was to use soldiers’ interests as a connection point to promote the idea of extending their military commitments.
Soldiers were informed through a memo from battalion commanders that those who agree to re-enlistment terms by November 14 will be granted a “special four-day pass” tailored to coincide with the release of Grand Theft Auto VI. The authenticity of the July 28 memo, which was shared online after being photographed, was confirmed by Tomko.
Approximately 20 out of 130 eligible soldiers have opted in for the bonus offer by committing to an additional two years of service in uniform. The anticipation for Grand Theft Auto VI has been mounting since 2023, particularly after the release of its initial cinematic trailer showcasing a return to the fictional Vice City, a Miami-inspired setting, and an expanded range of Florida-based environments, including alligator-infested swamplands.
The excitement surrounding the game has been further heightened by the announcement that developer Rockstar Games will premiere gameplay footage in an extended trailer on Netflix soon, following an unexpected leak of apparent gameplay footage by hackers earlier this week.