After over a year of speculation about when the hugely-anticipated fifth entry into the Grand Theft Auto series was going to be released, Rockstar finally dropped the bombshell in a statement that it won't be hitting stores until
September 17th of this year. This will be a shock to many players, given
Rockstar's own announcement 3 months ago that it would be hitting the shelves sometime this Spring. Anticipating disappointment from the announcement, Rockstar made what should have been a jubilant declaration seem more like an
apologetic whimper:
"Today, we have an official release date to share with you: Grand Theft Auto V will arrive in stores on September 17, 2013. 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. 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. To all Grand Theft Auto fans, please accept our apologies for the delay, and our promise that the entire team here is working very hard to make the game all it can be. We are doing all we can to help ensure it will meet if not exceed your expectations come September we thank you for your support and patience."
It's a blow to players the world over, who were hoping that GTA V might be released over the Easter period (giving them a 4-day period to blast through it uninterrupted), and at the very least, that it should show up around the end of May and see us through the usual summer gaming drought. At least this gives us all enough time to book a week off in mid-September, eh? Let us know what you think of the delay in the comments below.