Thousands of people are expected to ‘get the flu’ on the exact same day in May 2026, according to reports this week.
That’s because of a phenomenon known informally as ‘GTA Flu’, which is expected to hit workers all on the same day next spring, when Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI releases.
According to a study by GTA Boom, the next instalment of the best-selling game series, GTA 6, due for release on PS5 and Xbox on May 26, 2026, is so hotly anticipated that thousands of people are expected to call in sick on that Tuesday just to play it.
This is because of a pattern spotted in the company’s previous releases which saw a spike in sick days, like when Rockstar’s other big series, Red Dead Redemption II released.
Matt Gibbs, director of fan site GTA Boom, said: “Given the history of significant sick day spikes during major game releases, like with Rockstar’s last big hit Red Dead Redemption II, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a wave of ‘GTA flu’ when the game launches.”
Back in 2013, IGN asked readers if they would take a day off for GTA V’s release, and 19% of 10,995 readers responded that they planned to fake illness and take the day as a sick day.
According to financial experts at finance firm Konvoy Ventures, GTA 6 is expected to be the highest grossing entertainment product of all time when it launches, with a crazy $7.6B in revenue in its first 60 days on sale.
Its predecessor, GTA V, has now sold 215 million copies, making it the best selling game of all time and earning $10B for the company.
Josh Chapman, managing partner at the firm, said: “GTA VI: we predict that GTA VI will generate $7.6 BILLION in revenue in the first 60 Days of its launch (current release date: May 26, 2026). This will be the greatest video game release of all time; shattering player, viewership, and revenue records.
“For Take-Two Interactive’s $2 billion investment into this game, we believe they will break even on that within 30 days of release.”