Soldiers incentivized to reenlist with time off to play Grand Theft Auto VI

Some soldiers at Fort Stewart, Ga., are having an unusual reenlistment perk dangled in front of them: four days off work to play one of the most anticipated video games in years.

Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson, commander of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion, part of the 3rd Infantry Division, is offering soldiers who reenlist between Aug. 1 and Nov. 14, 2026, a special four-day pass timed specifically to coincide with the Nov. 19 release of Grand Theft Auto VI, according to an internal memo reviewed by News, first published by “U.S Army W.T.F! moments,” a large online community of service members and veterans.

“The battalion has a new career counselor who approached unit leadership with an idea for an updated creative incentives program,” Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a division spokesperson, said in a statement to News, adding that the 3rd Infantry Division, a formation of some 15,000 soldiers, was recognized last year as having the most successful reenlistment campaigns last year across the Army.

Troops must reenlist for two to six years of additional service, according to Tomko, who said 20 soldiers so far have taken the reenlistment offer. 

Reenlistment incentives are a common tool for keeping troops in uniform as they approach the end of their contracts, typically taking the form of cash bonuses or opportunities to change jobs, duty stations or career paths. Commanders can also sweeten the deal with time off.

While the armed services have struggled with recruiting in recent years, those problems have largely eased and retention has generally proved less of a challenge, data from the armed services show. The Army each year typically gets the number of soldiers it needs to reenlist, though that success can vary across individual jobs and units.

Grand Theft Auto VI, developed by Rockstar Games, is the latest installment in the blockbuster action franchise, known for its cynical lampooning of American culture and politics. The game is set in Leonida, a fictionalized version of Florida that includes Vice City, the franchise’s stand-in for Miami, and follows a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style criminal couple.

The long-awaited new title is expected to be one of the biggest video game releases ever after nearly a decade in development. Its predecessor, 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, remains one of the most successful video games of all time, having sold more than 230 million copies worldwide, according to an August investor briefing for the game’s publisher, Take-Two Interactive, reviewed by News.

Grand Theft Auto V also became the fastest video game to gross $1 billion in sales, reaching the mark just three days after its release, according to Take-Two Interactive.