Grand Theft Auto V delayed, due September 17
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Rockstar Games delays upcoming Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 open-world game four months for extra polish; no mention of Wii U or PC versions.
Grand Theft Auto V has been delayed and will hit store shelves September 17, Rockstar Games announced today. The game was previously targeted to launch sometime this spring for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Explaining the delay, Rockstar said the extra time will allow the company to polish the game further.
"We know this is about four months later than originally planned and we know that this short delay will come as a disappointment to many of you, but, trust us, it will be worth the extra time," the company said in a statement.
"GTAV is a massively ambitious and complex game and it simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require."
Notably absent from Rockstar's announcement of the GTAV release date today was mention of a PC or Wii U version of the game. The company previously said these versions were "up for consideration." Grand Theft Auto IV originally launched only for Xbox 360 and PS3, but was later made available on PC.
GTAV was announced in October 2011, and a teaser trailer that followed in November confirmed that the game will be set primarily in present-day Los Santos, a fictional town modeled on Los Angeles. Rockstar has also said that GTAV boasts the largest scope of any installment in the franchise to date.
The GTAV game world is reportedly bigger than Red Dead Redemption, GTA: San Andreas, and GTAIV combined.
GTAV features three protagonists, making it the first title in the series to tell its primary story through multiple characters. However, it is not an entirely novel idea for the franchise. GTAIV focused its narrative on the story of Niko Bellic, but ensuing downloadable expansions depicted Liberty City from the viewpoints of two additional characters.
GTAV will have some big shoes to fill. Its predecessor, GTAIV, was a massive success for Rockstar and Take-Two. The game has shipped over 25 million copies, placing it among the top-performing games of all time. In total, the Grand Theft Auto franchise itself has shipped over 125 million copies.
Entertainment Design and Research analyst Jesse Divnich said in November that he thinks GTAV has the potential to sell north of 25 million copies during its first 12 months on the market.
For more on GTAV, check out GameSpot's video breakdown of the game's second trailer (below), as well as all previous coverage.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
421 comments
I highly doubt this is going next gen. Think about it, its pretty likely that the next gen consoles wont even be out in September
@Gam1nG_W1zard I don't doubt it will, at least in some way , it could release in both C: why not? I really don't believe that currect gen will do a great job on GTA V. And I think I've spotted DX11 features on screens and videos, I really don't know if it's true or not but the currect gen doesnt support that type of tech right?
@BloodFatality good choice, but as a pc guy, wait months for the next gen of games, then buy a good PC, you will spent less money this way. I have to do SLI of the GTX670 tough C: This happened with the PS3 the games were way better and if you see, Star Wars 1313 was run on a GTX680 which is 500?.
Cousin, this is your cousin! The extra time is being spent creating a constantly ringing cell phone and offers to go bowling.
2 Like I feel like GTAIV was way overblown...it was great, but not a perfect 10. I don't doubt Rockstar's ability to craft an excellent game, but I'm kind of over GTA in general. I might pick it up when the price drops.
1 Like Translation: We are delaying GTA V so it can be a launch title for the X720 and PS4.
Oh, and there's too many good games coming out this spring already.
So don't be fooled my friends, this time will be spent by Rockstar making day 1 DLC and new console ports, not polishing the game!
better for it to be next gen
our corrent gen consoles can bearly keep up with LA NOIRE
so they want to make something bigger? bitch please
1 Like News like this makes me glad I'm not a pc elitist. I can enjoy this game on my ps3 while they moan and groan for this to come to pc.
2 Like I'm convinced R* released the first trailer way too early, I bet at that point they didn't have much more done than what we saw.
I think they released it in November 2011 to attract a larger crowd to the more niche game they were also promoting at that time; Max Payne 3.
When trailer 2 came around, you could tell they've spent the last year working their asses off. I was impressed. I'd actually love it if they'd take another year and a half, make it even better and get a simultaneous release on PC. 3 years in development is nothing for a triple A game nowadays. Take your time R*!
If some you (not all) would read and listen to the numerous recent interviews conducted with Houser, you'd know exactly why Rockstar does what they do. The game will NOT just be for our next-gen systems, that much is clear, and to even try to speculate otherwise is plain asinine.
However, what I could see happening is the game being released in September for the PS3 & 360 and possibly PORTING that title over to the new consoles after they've released, making it a launch title. Rockstar's RAGE team have had their new engine in development for quite some time, so it wouldn't surprise me a bit to see that.
I hope it drops on a next-gen console, because when the 360 came out the 1st games on it were terrible, maybe they could bundle it up with the console....
1 Like Well there goes the hope of me playing a decent new game for the next 6 months.
1 Like @MooncalfReviews What about 'The Last of Us' and 'BioShock: Infinite', I'm still holding out some hope for them. They should be pretty good.
1 Like If it's true that the next-gen is already hitting the market this year, i find it strange that they would release this game so late for the current gen, when the PS4 is expected only 2 months later... i honestly don't think this is gonna hit current gen. If it's that large a game, i can't imagine it would work without tons of loading screens or framerate drop or something like that... it just strikes me as odd...
@DaneGamer Rockstar released Bully on the PS2 in October 2006, almost a year after the Xbox 360 had been on the market. (They then released it around a year and a half later on the 360 and PC in March, 2008, as the Scholarship edition.)
As far as GTA V's performance, Rockstar said that current gen consoles have plenty of power to do everything that wanted to do in the game.
im not surprised one bit they pushed it back. I have always thought this game will be for next gen systems. I mean they aren't going to release this now. And then put a next GTA game out 4-5 years later on new systems.
Love it, I wish more game companies would delay their games to make them absolutely perfect! If they did we would have waaaay more excellent games then we already do, or some of the titles that were almost their but not quite, could actually be with this approach. Make it the best yet Rockstar, I have total trust that you will! :)
1 Like And then, after a second delay in september - the final bombshell - GTA V is actually a launch title for nexgen consoles.
Were they just quoted as saying it was delayed 4 months? that would be July not September......lmao.
@punisher1I'd say @linksfire is wrong, they meant 4 months AFTER spring 2013, not 4 months after this article! ;)
1 Like Enough games coming out in March already. Im glad this has been moved forward to a silent period so I can enjoy it without rushing.
@twistedface12 some are still waiting on a Red Dead PC release date, so maybe it's time to give-in and buy one of the kiddies consoles? It's a crying shame for a PC owning man-child, but oh well, I feel the same...damn them! :D
1 Like GTA5 will hurt new console sales the most if they are released this year .Nobody will care about a new Xbox or PS4 if GTA5 is released so late in the year.
2 Like @garyperson Hurt new console sales? The new consoles won't even be out this year, and probably not until late next year or 2015 the latest. I for one is happy with the current consoles and the quality of games bought out each year for them.
@jonny-g- @garyperson Expect the new consoles by Christmas -- especially with the PS4 being revealed on 2/20. The Wall Street Journal reports both will be out this holiday season. The WSJ isn't one to play with their reputation.
lol, it was delayed, really?
wow.. i remember those "analysts" predicting first for last november and then for this spring.
1 Like @Mega_LoserI remember that too, 'analysts' aren't paid to understand the game industry, really just graphs and figures. I remember seeing the first trailer (which was pretty minimal) then reading their release date theories, stating it was a year off and thinking 'Ged oudda here!'
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Grand Theft Auto V
- Publisher(s): Rockstar Games
- Developer(s): Rockstar North
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- ESRB: M
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