GTAIV: Gay Tony coming out Oct. 29

Two months ago, rumors of an Irish gangster-themed second expansion to Grand Theft Auto IV went up in flames with the announcement of The Ballad of Gay Tony. The game will prominently feature Anthony "Gay Tony" Prince, associate of the Ancelotti crime family in GTAIV. More specifically, it will follow his assistant, Luis Lopez, who popped up in the "Museum Piece" mission featured in both the original game and the first expansion, February's The Lost and Damned.

Now, the second and final expansion, which concerns criminal intrigue in Liberty City's high-end nightlife, has been definitively dated for October 29. It will be offered a la carte on Xbox Live for the price $19.99/MSP1,600 or at stores as part of the disc-based title Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City. Retailing for $39.99, the latter bundles the Ballad of Gay Tony with the Lost and Damned and, interestingly, does not require the original GTAIV to play, as the downloadable expansions do.

Along with releasing the first concept art from the Balland of Gay Tony (pictured top), Rockstar began accepting preorders for Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City directly from its online store, the Rockstar Warehouse. For more details on the first Grand Theft Auto IV expansion, check out GameSpot's look at the add-on, or watch the video hands-on of its multiplayer mode below.