Army Unit Offers 4-Day Pass to Play GTA VI as Reenlistment Perk

A U.S. Army unit in Georgia is offering active-duty soldiers a four-day pass to play Grand Theft Auto VI as an incentive to reenlist, U.S. officials told CBS News.

Twenty soldiers at Fort Stewart's 9th Brigade Engineering Battalion, part of the 3rd Infantry Division, have already chosen the incentive as part of their reenlistment, an Army spokesperson said. About 130 soldiers in the battalion are currently eligible.

"The idea was to have a unique incentives program that connects to what soldiers are interested in," said Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division. "The command team, in conjunction with the career counselor, wanted to get soldiers excited to reenlist."

An Army memo that circulated online says any soldier who signs a reenlistment contract between August 1, 2026, and November 14 will be authorized the special four-day pass, timed to coincide with "the highly anticipated release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6)." Eligible soldiers must reenlist for a minimum of two years and up to six years.

The program is not service-wide; it applies to a single battalion, though Army officials said it could be expanded. Task & Purpose and Military.com first authenticated the letter, which originally surfaced on the social media community U.S. Army WTF! Moments.

Grand Theft Auto VI, developed by Rockstar Games, is set for release on November 19 — the franchise's first new installment since Grand Theft Auto V launched in 2013. The new game will again be set in a fictional version of Miami and will feature the series' first female lead character.

The Army has long used enlistment incentives such as college tuition, choice duty assignments and specialized training programs to attract and retain soldiers. It has also actively courted gamers in recent years. After missing its 2018 recruiting goal for the first time in more than a decade, the service began recruiting at gaming conventions and launched an esports team built around titles like Call of Duty, Fortnite and League of Legends.

In 2019, Maj. Gen. Frank Muth, then head of the Army's recruiting command, told CBS News that gaming skills often overlap with what the Army looks for in recruits. "It's the decision-making, it's the ability to take in a lot of information quickly and to be able to make a decision," Muth said. "It's about teamwork."