There are moments when government employees should seriously consider putting in for leave.
A family vacation. A wedding. The birth of a child. And, apparently, November 19, 2026.
After more than a decade of waiting, Grand Theft Auto VI is finally scheduled to arrive. Rockstar Games currently lists November 19 as the official release date for the next installment of a franchise whose previous mainline game, Grand Theft Auto V, debuted in September 2013.
That means federal employees who were junior enlisted troops, college students, or just starting their government careers when GTA V came out are now supervisors, GS-13s, and parents trying to figure out how they’re going to disappear for 12 uninterrupted hours.
This is your warning: Put in the leave request.
Because explaining to your supervisor that you weren’t answering Teams because you were in the middle of a high-speed police chase probably won’t save you from getting chewed out.
GTA Leave Is Still Leave
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking annual leave because a video game comes out. Socially, that may not be true, but that is to be determined.
You earned the leave. You don’t need to convince your supervisor that your reason for wanting the day off meets some arbitrary importance threshold. If you want to spend November 19 exploring your new video game obsession instead of answering emails, submit the leave request and enjoy yourself.
The problem begins when you don’t take leave.
Federal ethics rules require employees to use official time in an honest effort to perform their official duties. Federal employees also have a responsibility to protect government property and use it only for authorized purposes.
In other words, working from home does not magically transform eight hours of government time into eight hours of “just keep Teams green.” Even IF they sell a device that you can set up to move your mouse and keep your accounts active.
If you’re supposed to be working from 0800 to 1630 but spend three hours playing GTA VI while periodically moving your mouse, you haven’t discovered a clever telework loophole. You’re just not working.
Yes, Government Employees Have Done This
Gaming on government time isn’t a new problem.
Years ago, DC-area news outlet WJLA investigated government employees spending significant amounts of work time watching YouTube, using Facebook, and playing online games. The technology has changed considerably since then, but the basic issue hasn’t. And it isn’t a uniquely American problem.
In late 2025, a video of an employee at Tuguegarao City Hall in the Philippines apparently playing a computer game during office hours went viral and generated public outrage. Months later, in April 2026, another video reportedly prompted the Land Transportation Office XI to investigate an employee accused of playing computer games while on duty.
The Philippine government’s rules are considerably more explicit: its Civil Service Commission has warned government workers that playing online games during office hours can constitute administrative misconduct.
The U.S. federal government doesn’t have a special “GTA clause.” It doesn’t need one.
Your Agency Already Has Rules
Federal agencies generally have policies governing personal use of government computers and internet access. Some allow limited personal use under certain circumstances. That does not mean you have permission to install any game you choose on your government laptop, hook your PlayStation up to the agency network, or spend half your shift trying to lose a five-star wanted level.
The Department of Justice, for example, says limited personal use of certain government equipment may be permitted when the cost is negligible, and the activity occurs on the employee’s own time. It separately states that employees should generally not conduct personal activities during duty hours.
The DoW similarly states that personnel must use official time in an honest effort to perform official duties and may not use government property for purposes beyond those authorized. Agency-specific policies vary, which is important. Checking the news during lunch and disappearing into GTA for four hours while claiming you worked those four hours are not the same thing.
The latter can become a conduct and potentially a time-and-attendance issue.
The Consequences Can Get Real
This is where our funny GTA story stops being quite as funny.
Federal discipline isn’t governed by one universal “caught playing video games” penalty. The circumstances, agency policy, employee history, amount of time involved, and seriousness of the misconduct can all matter. Hopefully, your record is squeaky clean if you were to get caught.
But possible consequences can range from counseling or reprimands to suspension and, in serious cases, removal.
The Department of Health & Human Services’ published table of penalties, for example, lists misuse of the internet during duty time for nonofficial purposes as an offense carrying penalties ranging from a reprimand to removal depending on the circumstances and prior offenses. It also identifies “loafing,” wasting time, and conducting personal business while on duty as neglect of duty.
And lying about the time makes things considerably worse.
The Merit Systems Protection Board has recognized the obvious connection between falsifying time-and-attendance records and the efficiency of government service. Federal cases have also upheld removal where inaccurate time records were combined with unauthorized absences and other misconduct.
So if you played for 20 minutes during lunch, that’s one conversation. If you played for six hours and certified that you worked eight, you may be having a very different conversation.
Remote Workers, I’m Looking at You
GTA VI arrives on a Thursday. That is important.
Rockstar Games says players who preorder digitally will even be able to preload beginning November 12, meaning there won’t necessarily be a massive download standing between employees and playtime when November 19 arrives.
For anyone teleworking that Thursday, temptation will be sitting about 5-10 feet from the government laptop.
Don’t do it.
Telework is not an entitlement to disappear during duty hours, and OPM notes that it can terminate a telework agreement when an employee fails to comply with its terms or when performance falls below required standards. Agencies may also have additional policies that allow them to terminate telework arrangements for misconduct.
Losing your telework arrangement, especially in the current environment, because you couldn’t wait until 4:30 to steal a virtual sports car would be an impressively avoidable career decision.
Take the Day Off
This isn’t an argument against gaming. It’s actually the complete opposite. Especially if you’ve been waiting 13 years for GTA VI, take the day off. Take Friday too. Build yourself a four-day weekend. Turn off Teams. Put the government laptop somewhere you can’t see it. Order pizza. Tell your family you’ll eventually return to society.
Your supervisor doesn’t need to know that your annual leave request is because you intend to spend Thursday committing an extraordinary number of fictional felonies. But, what you probably shouldn’t do is collect a government paycheck while doing it.
Your digital criminal career will still be there when your shift ends. Your federal career should be too.
