Members of the U.S. Army are exchanging years of military enlistment to play Grand Theft Auto 6 when it drops this November.
The incentive allows active duty soldiers to play GTA 6 for four days, among other more traditional benefits, and is currently only being offered to one specific unit. While interesting recruitment strategies, especially involving video games, have become more commonplace in recent years for the military, this GTA-based incentive is certainly singular.
Years of duty for four days
According to CBS News, so far, twenty soldiers of the 9th Brigade Engineering Battalion at Fort Stewart in Georgia have already signed up for reenlistment with this special benefit as part of the package. The offer is, so far, only available to around 130 soldiers. Reenlistment means continuing for a minimum of two years, which seems a hefty price for just four days of gaming.
A spokesperson for the Army, Lt. Col. Angel Tomko explained the military’s reason for offering the GTA-specific incentive. He stated: “The idea was to have a unique incentives program that connects to what Soldiers are interested in. The command team, in conjunction with the career counselor, wanted to get soldiers excited to reenlist.”
GTA 6’s hype is singular
This incentive for soldiers to sign up for more time in uniform marks how truly unique the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 is. While gamers are never shy to hype up a title, GTA 6 has experienced unprecedented levels of excitement, stemming not only from the stretch of years since the last game released (all the way back in 2013) but the tight-lipped marketing strategy Rockstar Games has employed leading up to November.
While recent leaks have certainly revealed more than Rockstar ever wanted, players are still obviously more than ready to jump back into Vice City. If the pre-sale numbers of GTA 6 are anything to go off of, then it’s clear that this may very well be the biggest game launch of the decade.
Cannily, the military is using this unique cultural event to their advantage as well.
