Was ist das? German Workers Get Paid Time Off to Play the Year’s Biggest Video Game

Every big game launch comes with a wave of mysterious illnesses. This one comes with a catalog.

The campaign’s visuals imagine the groundwork gamers are laying for November 19, when the year’s most anticipated open-world video game arrives. One sets up the office AC as the culprit. Another has a mold problem, with the repair visit conveniently booked for the 19th.

Someone’s uncle Jason is visiting from Vice City for a week. A new mindfulness class meets every Thursday, which happens to be launch day. And one all-day notary appointment for a late aunt’s inheritance is airtight, because no one questions notaries.

In Germany, up to 100 gamers can skip the performance. “Open World Games: Lessons from a Digital World” is a state-accredited, three-day online course built by learning provider Dein Bildungsurlaub with Serviceplan Berlin and Mediaplus. It runs November 18 to 20, and it counts as paid leave.

The excuse comes with paperwork

The mechanism is “Bildungsurlaub,” a German benefit with no direct equivalent in the US or UK. In most German states, employees are entitled to five to 10 days of paid leave a year for recognized training. They usually cover the course fee; the employer keeps paying their salary.

Few people use it. According to Utopia, only about one in 14 eligible employees takes the leave — even with a record 1.04 million doing so in 2024.

So the campaign handed gamers an honest reason to be away from their desks on launch day.

The sick day becomes a syllabus

“The biggest game releases are no longer niche entertainment. They are cultural events that bring millions of people together,” says Carlo Drechsel, founder of Dein Bildungsurlaub. “Modern learning should meet people where their curiosity already lives.”

Participants play through in-game assignments in guided groups, then turn what they notice into practical lessons on storytelling, motivation, community-building and collaboration. One module digs into the game’s Easter eggs — how they pull players in and what brands, teams and learning programs can borrow from them.

Every syllabus needs a favorite module.

Legit, with a wink

Jeannette Bohné, managing director at Serviceplan Berlin, is clear that this is the system working as designed. “Turning the year’s biggest game launch into an accredited learning experience is not a loophole,” she says.

She also admits it feels a little mischievous: “Hacking the system of educational leave to give gamers a release they’ll never forget almost feels illegal.”

Till Diestel, CCO of Serviceplan DACH, keeps it simple: “It sounds almost too good to be true, but the logic is simple: gaming is already mainstream. Education should be, too.”

Finding the would-be sick callers

The media plan went narrow on purpose. The campaign reaches employee-gamers through electronics retailers, streamer partnerships and LinkedIn — the places players already gather in launch week.

“We chose cultural precision over reach,” says Max Schöngen, managing partner at Mediaplus Group. “If the idea feels like an insider tip, that is intentional.”

Who gets to play

Participants must be 18 or older and have a suitable device and a licensed copy of the game. An additional event is planned in Berlin. Eligibility and application rules vary by federal state and employer.

Some people will call in sick on November 19. A hundred others will play on paid leave — and turn in homework.

---

Learn more

Serviceplan
Mediaplus
Serviceplan LinkedIn