You know a game is about to break the internet when actual businesses start planning around it. That’s exactly what’s happening with GTA 6 right now, as a Southern California auto parts company has officially told its entire staff to expect a shutdown on launch day. Combine that with Rockstar finally locking in a pre-order date, and it’s safe to say the hype train has left the station.
- Burger Motorsports, a car performance shop in Simi Valley, California, is pausing company-wide operations on November 19, the day GTA 6 launches.
- The memo was posted to Instagram on June 11 and cites employee scheduling conflicts as the reason.
- Customer support, shipping, order processing, engineering, and social media are all expected to see delays that day.
- GTA 6 pre-orders officially open June 25 on digital storefronts like PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store, plus select retailers.
- No official price yet, but expectations are sitting in the $70 to $80 range, not the $200 some rumors floated.
- GTA 6 is still on track for November 19, with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick confirming there won’t be further delays.
A SoCal Car Company Is Shutting Down For GTA 6 Launch Day
Burger Motorsports builds performance parts for cars, not games, which makes this whole thing even funnier. But when a company decides its workforce is more invested in Vice City than in shipping turbo kits, you just have to respect it. The shop posted an internal memo to Instagram on June 11 letting everyone know that normal business is getting paused on November 19, the exact day GTA 6 hits shelves.
According to the memo, management looked at how many employees had already flagged scheduling conflicts for that date and basically decided fighting it was pointless. Instead of forcing people to call out sick or burn vacation days, Burger Motorsports just built the day off into the schedule from the start.
What’s Actually In The Burger Motorsports Memo
The memo itself is genuinely funny if you’re a gamer. It opens by addressing staff, customers, dealers, and partners, then explains that scheduling conflicts tied to GTA 6’s release mean normal operations can’t really continue as usual. A few employees had reportedly already warned their managers they’d be unreachable, unavailable, or straight up “in Vice City” for the entire day.
The company says things will go back to normal once everyone has finished their initial exploration of the map, cleared at least one mission, and made their way back to reality. It’s a pretty clear sign Burger Motorsports knows exactly how deep people are going to fall into this game on day one. The memo wraps up by calling the launch an “unprecedented cultural event” and thanking customers in advance for their patience.
Which Departments Will Be Affected
This isn’t just a “we’re closing the storefront” situation. Burger Motorsports specifically called out several teams that are expected to see slowdowns on launch day:
- Customer support
- Order processing
- Shipping
- Engineering
- Social media
- General productivity across the board
So if you’re ordering parts from them around mid-November, you might want to plan ahead a little.
GTA Fans And Reddit Are Loving It
Unsurprisingly, the gaming community ate this up. Over on the r/GTA6 subreddit, plenty of people backed the decision, with some pointing out it’s a totally realistic move for a smaller company that doesn’t want a wave of no-shows and sick days anyway. Others had jokes ready to go, with one comment predicting it’ll be a massive day for DoorDash as gamers order food instead of leaving the couch. A lot of fans straight up said they’re planning to take that Thursday off themselves, memo or no memo.
GTA 6 Pre-Orders Open June 25 — Here’s What We Know
While the Burger Motorsports story has been stealing headlines, the actual GTA 6 news is moving fast too. Rockstar confirmed that pre-orders go live Thursday, June 25, available through digital storefronts including the PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store, along with select physical retailers. Alongside that announcement, Rockstar also dropped the official cover art, putting Jason and Lucia front and center against the Vice City skyline.
One thing worth noting: there’s no PC pre-order happening here. GTA 6 is launching exclusively on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S this November, and based on how Rockstar handled GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, a PC version landing a year or two later wouldn’t be surprising at all.
How Much Will GTA 6 Cost?
This is the question everyone actually wants answered. Rockstar still hasn’t confirmed an official price, but most signs point to somewhere between $70 and $80 for the standard edition, which would line up with current AAA console pricing. The wild $100 to $200 numbers that circulated earlier this year appear to be nothing more than rumors at this point, and a fake $225 PC pre-order listing that popped up recently only added to the confusion. Some industry chatter suggests Rockstar could go with multiple editions at launch, but until June 25 rolls around, all of that is still speculation.
Why November 19 Is Already Such A Big Deal
It’s worth remembering just how long fans have waited for this. GTA 6 has already been pushed back from its original 2025 window, then shifted again before landing on November 19, 2026. Despite that, Zelnick has been firm in repeated interviews that this date is locked in, and the fact that pre-orders are opening a full five months out is a strong signal Rockstar isn’t planning to move the goalposts again.
GTA 6 is also shaping up to be the only major release on the calendar that November, with most other studios reportedly steering clear of going head to head with it. Between that, the cover art reveal, and now businesses literally rearranging their schedules around it, GTA 6 is proving it doesn’t even need to be out yet to dominate the conversation.
For more on what’s happening across gaming this month, check out our coverage of the Persona 6 Australia rating and release window, the Borderlands 4 Bounty Pack 3 and Hadron Abyss raid release, and the Minecraft Chaos Cubed update and its new Sulfur Caves mob. We’re also tracking EA Sports FC 26’s Xbox Game Pass World Cup content if you need something to hold you over until November.
