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Title: Playqub Launches Calculator Estimating GTA6 Launch Day Impact on UK Workplace Output

Netherlands, 29th Oct 2026 - Playqub.it, an independent gaming website, has launched a  online calculator and regional model that estimates how the release of Grand Theft Auto VI on 19 November 2026 could affect working time and economic output across the United Kingdom.The model combines official Office for National Statistics (ONS) employment and productivity data with Ofcom console ownership research and a published survey of UK workers who play video games. Under its central assumptions, the model estimates that time away from work on launch day could be equivalent to about £231 million of UK output, from unplanned absence such as sick leave and unpaid leave. A further £171 million relates to booked annual leave, which the model treats separately because that working time is usually rescheduled rather than lost.The calculator allows employers, journalists and readers to change each assumption and see how the national and regional estimates respond. A separate workplace version estimates the possible effect for a single organisation based on its headcount and average pay.Main estimates from the modelAll figures are model estimates based on the stated assumptions. They are not forecasts of actual behaviour.About 3.66 million UK workers may be able to play GTA 6 on launch day, based on Ofcom data on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S use. The game is scheduled to launch on those two consoles only.Around 1.46 million workers could take some form of time off on 19 November. Of these, about 622,000 relate to booked annual leave and about 841,000 to unplanned absence.Unplanned absence is estimated at about £231 million of output. Including annual leave, the total value of working time affected on the day is about £402 million.London accounts for the largest share of th...

This press release is issued by King Newswire