Dubbed “Logi Game Day,” the new initiative gives Logitech employees, from full-time workers to interns, the opportunity to take one day off from now until this time next year to play a game of their choice.

“It’s time to retire the stereotype that gaming is a waste of time,” Hanneke Faber, Logitech’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “As a company designing products for work and play, we see every day how engagement in one sphere supports performance in the other. ”

Faber plans to join in on the gaming on Nov. 19 herself, but she’ll still head into the office to join the company’s streaming event, when the space will be transformed into a full-fledged gaming lounge. The date is no coincidence: It also marks the launch of GTA VI. But workers can save the day off until 2027 if they want.

“I’m ready for some fun and (friendly) competition,” she told Fortune.

Logitech says playing video games like GTA 6 can make workers more productive

One estimate suggested that the U.S. economy could lose as much as $1 billion in productivity as 1.5 million workers potentially skip work for GTA VI’s release. But according to Victor Matheson, an economist at the College of the Holy Cross who studies sports and major events, even if the figure were accurate, the lost productivity might not be such a bad thing.

“But even if it were true, it’s not necessarily a bad thing if people are happier,” Matheson previously told Fortune. “And it’s pretty tiny in the big picture anyway.”

Instead, Logitech is betting that giving employees dedicated time to play could actually make them more productive.

A study released by Logitech last month, surveying 900 adults and an additional 100 gamers across nine countries, found that 4 in 5 respondents agreed gaming makes them more confident handling real-life challenges and helps them stay calm and focused in high-pressure situations.

“Play is not the opposite of work,” Elaine Laird, Logitech’s chief people officer, said in a statement. “When people have dedicated time to log off, decompress and immerse themselves in play, they return with clearer focus, renewed energy and fresh approaches to complex challenges.”

Logitech’s executives largely practice what they teach. Laird has a friendly competition with coworkers playing the mobile block puzzle game Block Blast, while chief financial officer Matteo Anversa plans to take his game day off to play Forza on a simulation racing rig.

Still, GTA VI is likely to be the main attraction when it launches. The game is expected to be one of the biggest entertainment releases of the year, with nearly 8 million copies already estimated to have been sold.

“If employees choose to spend their Gaming Time Off exploring Vice City on launch day, you won’t hear any complaints from us,” a Logitech spokesperson added to Fortune.

GTA VI’s publisher, Take-Two Interactive, increased its fiscal year 2027 outlook to an estimated $8.2 billion in net bookings, according to its quarterly earnings report released Monday. For comparison, the company achieved $5.65 billion in net bookings for fiscal year 2025.

GTA VI fever is spreading: Workers are booking PTO, and the Army is using the game to lure soldiers into reenlisting

Logitech isn’t the only organization taking advantage of the GTA VI hype.

A U.S. Army unit in Georgia went viral earlier this year for offering active-duty soldiers a four-day pass to play the game as an incentive to reenlist.

“The idea was to have a unique incentive program that connects to what soldiers are interested in,” Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division, said in a statement to Fortune earlier this year. At the time, nearly two dozen soldiers had already signed up for the offer.

Data from BambooHR shows that PTO requests for GTA VI’s release date are nearly 13% higher than on comparable days in previous years. The company’s own survey found that 18% of salaried workers said they plan to take the day off for the launch.

But not everyone is planning to put in their requests ahead of time. Half of gamers who plan to take time off for an upcoming game release said they intend to call in sick rather than schedule PTO in advance—a potential headache for employers hoping to keep their teams fully staffed at the end of next week.