A flyer from a US Army battalion reportedly claimed that it would offer soldiers a four-day pass to play Grand Theft Auto 6 on release if they commit to a specific decision beforehand. As of this writing, GTA 6 is still on track to launch worldwide on Thursday, November 19, on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles.
It’s no secret that GTA 6 is one of the most-anticipated games of 2026, as pre-order figures for the game continue to climb ahead of the November 19 launch. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick claimed that pre-orders for GTA 6 Ultimate Edition outnumbered GTA 6 Standard Edition, despite the latter being cheaper. However, Zelnick did not provide an exact margin for how much GTA 6 Ultimate Edition has outsold its standard counterpart. A likely reason is due to the fact that GTA 6 Ultimate Edition has exclusive content and shops that are not in the standard version.
US Army Battalion Reportedly Offering Time Off to Play GTA 6 on One Condition
While GTA 6 will be a major revenue generator for Rockstar Games, the game’s pre-launch popularity has reportedly caught the attention of the US Army. According to a flyer posted by ‘US Army WTF! Moments’ on Instagram, The 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion (9th BEB) of Fort Stewart, Georgia, was offering soldiers stationed there an opportunity to take four days off to play Grand Theft Auto 6 from November 20 to 23. However, soldiers must sign a reenlistment contract between August 1 and November 14 to claim this pass.
-
Image via Rockstar Games -
Image via Rockstar Games -
The flyer was signed off by the 9th BEB’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Hodgson, who assumed control of the battalion on July 13, 2026. In short, LtCol Hodgson has only been at the post for over a month as of this writing. The flyer’s incentive window to reenlist in the US Army and get the four-day pass also operated under the assumption that GTA 6 will launch in November. Given that doubts about GTA 6‘s November 19 release date still linger on social media, it is unclear if the incentive window will be moved around should such a scenario come to pass. The US Army has not officially commented on the legitimacy of the Fort Stewart flyer, so it remains to be seen if it will be honored.
Users on the GTA 6 subreddit also debated the legitimacy of the reenlistment flyer. However, some Redditors pointed out that the US Army has used retention incentives in the past. The hype surrounding GTA 6‘s pending launch has also spilled over to civilian businesses. On June 11, Burger Motorsports in California stated that operations would see delays during GTA 6‘s launch window. The company said that customer support, social media, and general productivity would be affected due to the fact that several staff members have already requested time off to play GTA 6.
As for Rockstar Games, Netflix will host an extended video preview of GTA 6 on Thursday, August 27, at 3:00 PM Eastern. Viewers without a Netflix subscription can instead see the extended GTA 6 preview on YouTube starting at 9:00 PM Eastern.
- Released
-
November 19, 2026
- ESRB
-
Rating Pending – Likely Mature 17+
Sources: IGN, Kotaku
