Prediction market platform Kalshi is dangling as much as $135,000 for a gamer willing to play “Grand Theft Auto VI,” livestream the action and uncover the most lucrative ways to make money in the video game’s virtual economy.
The New York-based company is advertising a remote contract position for a “GTA VI Researcher” who will be tasked with playing the highly anticipated title from start to finish while studying its fictional setting’s financial system, according to a LinkedIn job posting.
The gig comes with a fixed project fee of $100,000 to $120,000, plus a $15,000 completion fee.
“This is a real job,” Kalshi said in the listing.
“We’re looking for someone whose parents said video games would never pay the bills. They were wrong, and you can tell them we said so.”
The successful applicant will be expected to begin playing at midnight on Nov. 19, the date of the game’s launch, and stream the entire journey on Twitch or YouTube.
The company wants the researcher to identify the most lucrative ways to earn the game’s pretend currency. One of the goals of long-delayed “GTA VI” is for gamers playing as criminals to make as much money as possible.
“We want the person who finds the optimal money-making strategy, builds a spreadsheet to prove it, and gets accused of ruining the game for everyone else,” the posting states.
In addition to mastering the game’s financial system, Kalshi wants its researcher to examine the real-world economic fallout from the blockbuster title’s release — including employees calling in sick, lost workplace productivity and the role of food delivery service DoorDash during launch week.
The winning applicant will also be expected to deliver a “State of the Leonida Economy” address and submit weekly research reports examining the game’s virtual economy.
Candidates must have at least a decade of gaming experience, their own streaming channels, at least three years of streaming experience and the equipment, an internet connection and software to broadcast their gameplay.
The unusual assignment comes as “GTA VI,” scheduled for release next Thursday on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, is already shattering preorder records.
Market research firm Sensor Tower estimates the blockbuster title has racked up more than 10 million digital preorders worth over $1 billion, according to a Wednesday report in the Washington Post.
Rockstar Games and its parent, Take-Two Interactive, have not shared official preorder figures.
The frenzy follows the success of 2013’s “Grand Theft Auto V,” which generated more than $1 billion in worldwide retail sales within three days of its release and has since sold more than 230 million copies, according to Take-Two.
