Video taking off 99x its usual first day

Ethan Lloyd plans to skip work for GTA 6, too

FOX 2 Detroit's segment on a projected billion-dollar productivity hit has commenters comparing the vacation days they booked months ago.

Channel:

FOX 2 Detroit Story of October 23, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 169,882 views a day, 99 times a normal first day on this channel (1,722).

GTA 6 launch could drain $1 billion from US economy

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00A survey finds more than a third of gamers asked plan to call in sick for GTA VI's release.
0:53Ethan Lloyd argues the decade-long wait since GTA V makes the sequel anticipated across generations.
1:28The forecast: about $1 billion in lost work, driven mostly by men aged 18 to 30.
2:13Lloyd describes the game's escapism and notes the release comes close to Election Day.
3:34Lloyd says he will take launch day off himself, after waiting a decade.
3:59The host compares the buzz to Super Bowl Monday and jokes about a "Grand Theft holiday."

What does a warning about a billion-dollar hit to the economy sound like when the expert delivering it plans to join in? On FOX 2 Detroit, it sounds like Ethan Lloyd.

The segment starts with a survey in which more than a third of the gamers asked said they plan to call in sick for the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, due in November. Lloyd, introduced as a tech expert, gamer and political strategist, walks through a forecast of about $1 billion in lost work, mostly from men aged 18 to 30. That figure is a projection, not money already gone.

His case for the hype rests on the long gap since Grand Theft Auto V, a game he calls "the greatest game ever created" in many players' eyes. He describes the open world as a chance to "live in your own action movie." Then comes the confession: "I've been waiting a decade to play this game," and yes, he is taking launch day off. The anchor tops it with a comparison to Super Bowl Monday and a joking proposal for a "Grand Theft holiday."

The piece passed 170,000 views in its first day, nearly a hundred times what a regular video usually draws here. That is unusual company for a channel whose all-time list leans on squatters and a Warren officer's rescue, and whose same-day uploads cover election monitors and governor's race ads.

The comment section, which passed a thousand in a day where a few usually trickle in, reads like a shared vacation calendar. Many say they requested the day off months ago, several say one day is not nearly enough, and older players gently remind everyone that 18 to 30 is not the whole audience.

Published on Trari

Where next?

Also in Local news stationsVideo taking off 11x its usual first dayVance pauses Nebraska rally for medical help and prayerKTVU's recording shows the vice president leaving the stage to check on an attendee as emergency responders provide care.Channel: KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco · Story of October 24, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo people are talking about 11x its usual commentsZelenskyy tells Steven Bartlett why he needed "ammunition, not a ride"In a nearly two-hour conversation, Ukraine's president moves from sleepless nights and grieving parents to Bucha, Paddington Bear and the morning the invasion …Channel: The Diary Of A CEO · Story of October 24, 2026

What viewers say

I quit my job 2 years ago for this day
@basedcheech883See it on YouTube
18 to 30? 😂I'm 44 & I've already put in my vacation time over 3 months ago 😂😂😂😂
@spaceagebeezy82See it on YouTube
A day...I'm taking a week off 😂
@juanrocha1063See it on YouTube

7 more comments

Weazel news talking about GTA 6 🔥
@shunthvhSee it on YouTube
Put in to take the day off for this 3 months ago.
@DfturcottSee it on YouTube
Man so many people at my job (including me) requested off the day since June 😂
@o-o0-043See it on YouTube
A day? I have 3 weeks PTO and return the week before Xmas 😂
@TayMcKenzieNZSee it on YouTube
Uber Eats is gonna be on FIRE for a few weeks 😂😂😂
@gametime2227See it on YouTube
The launch trailer entirely lived up to the hype. November 19 can't come fast enough. See you all in Leonida
@OutrunBossSee it on YouTube
It should be a national holiday
@Shivas0388See it on YouTube