Logitech gives employees a gaming day off as GTA 6 launch approaches

Logitech is giving employees a day off to play video games, with its first company-wide Game Day arriving just ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI. The choice of game is up to the employee, and the day off does not have to be taken on GTA 6’s launch day.

The company announced the benefit on November 10 and plans to host a gaming stream at its Americas headquarters in San Jose on November 19, the day Rockstar’s new game is due to launch.

According to Fortune’s reporting, the initiative covers around 7,000 employees, from full-time staff to interns, and they can choose a day over the following year.

Logitech announced the Game Day benefit on November 10. Image: Logitech

A day for gaming, not just GTA

Logitech G general manager Robin Piispanen named GTA 6, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Forza as examples of games employees might play. His remarks leave room for other choices; the benefit is not restricted to Rockstar’s release.

“It’s time to retire the stereotype that gaming is a waste of time,” chief executive Hanneke Faber said in Logitech’s announcement. The company designs products for both work and play, she added.

Fortune reports that Faber plans to join the November 19 stream at the office. A Logitech spokesperson also told the publication that employees who choose to spend their day in Vice City would have the company’s support.

Logitech chief executive Hanneke Faber says the company sees links between work and play. Image: Logitech

What Logitech says about play and work

Logitech presents the day as a way to recognise skills that can develop through games. Its announcement cites company research in which gamers reported benefits including confidence and focus.

Those are participants’ reported views, not proof that a day spent gaming will improve every employee’s performance. How people use the benefit, and what they get from it, will differ.

Logitech describes the initiative as its first company-wide gaming day. Piispanen will host the San Jose stream, according to the announcement, bringing staff together around the event.

For GTA fans, the date of Logitech’s stream is an obvious point of interest. Rockstar has set November 19 for the game’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S launch, while Logitech’s policy allows employees to save their gaming day for another time.