Grand Theft Auto V Delayed, Release Date Revealed

Rockstar has delayed the release date of Grand Theft Auto V out of May of 2013. Instead, the open world blockbuster bound title will release for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 17th, 2013.

A PC version, unfortunately, was not announced. My first thought when I head about the delay this morning was that Rockstar was planning to release a PC version alongside the console edition, but that’s not the case. Instead, in the body of the email that announced the new launch date, Rockstar explained the delay with this:

The September release date moves the launch back from its original projected release window of spring 2013 in order to allow additional development time. The biggest, most dynamic and most diverse open world Rockstar Games has yet created, Grand Theft Auto V blends storytelling and gameplay in new ways as players repeatedly jump in and out of the lives of the game’s three lead characters, playing all sides of the game’s interwoven story.

“Additional development time” could account for just about anything. Perhaps the game wasn’t testing well, or perhaps it was a little more bug-riddled than Rockstar likes. Regardless, the four month delay from May to September should be enough to get the job done.

Of course, this now makes Grand Theft Auto V a massive contender in the holiday season for games. Rockstar hasn’t released a game in the fall portion of the calendar since before Red Dead Redemption, and the solitude they’ve found in May has lead to huge sales. Now, gamers will be picking between Grand Theft Auto V and the whole slew of holiday games set to launch near it.

What will you choose?

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]