A United States army unit at Fort Stewart, Georgia, is incentivizing soldiers to re-enlist by offering them a special bonus of four extra days off coinciding with the release of Grand Theft Auto VI in November. The 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion commanders believe that providing free time for troops to engage in the popular video game will encourage some to extend their military service.
The highly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19 is expected to be a significant entertainment event of the year. Take-Two Interactive, the game 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 counsellor within the army engineer battalion proposed linking a retention incentive to the game’s launch to remind soldiers of their upcoming re-enlistment deadlines. The unique program aims to align with soldiers’ interests and boost retention rates.
Soldiers of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion who commit to re-enlistment by November 14 will be rewarded with a bonus of a special four-day pass, as outlined in a memo issued by battalion commander Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson. At least 20 out of 130 eligible soldiers have already signed up for the bonus, contingent on serving an additional two years in the military.
Grand Theft Auto VI has generated substantial excitement since its first cinematic trailer in 2023, showcasing a return to the fictional Vice City and an expanded range of Florida-based settings. Rockstar Games, the developer, plans to unveil gameplay footage in an extended trailer on Netflix, following a leak of apparent footage by hackers earlier this week.