Twenty soldiers in a U.S. Army engineering battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, have accepted a four-day pass to play Grand Theft Auto VI in exchange for extending their service contracts by at least two years, according to a July 28 memorandum signed by Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Ryan D. Hodgson. The special reenlistment incentive program, open to roughly 130 eligible members of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion, applies to soldiers who sign contracts between Aug. 1 and Nov. 14, 2026.
The incentive, proposed by a new career counselor seeking creative retention tools, is timed to coincide with the Nov. 19 release of Rockstar Games' highly anticipated sequel. The title, set in a fictional Miami and featuring the franchise's first female lead, is projected to become the most expensive entertainment product in history, with a budget far exceeding $1 billion. Its predecessor sold more than 200 million copies after launching in 2013.