Rockstar Games confirms spring 2013 release for Grand Theft Auto V

After the recent leak of the release window for the latest game in Rockstar’s popular open-world franchise – Grand Theft Auto V – the company has now officially confirmed the release window and has given information about pre-orders and the platforms that the game will be released for. The game will be available for pre-order everywhere on November 5.

According to the press release, GTA V is set to launch worldwide in spring 2013 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. According to Take Two, the game will be developed by the creator of the series – Rockstar North – and will be the largest game in the series. The game is set in the city of Los Santos and its surrounding area, which had made its first appearance in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, though this is expected to be a total reboot of the universe and will feature its own geography.
 
"Grand Theft Auto V builds on everything we've learned about open world game design," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "We can’t wait to share it with fans."

Grand Theft Auto V is set to come out in spring 2013

While the company has confirmed that the game will be released for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, the company has made no mention of the PC version. According to CNET, a Rockstar representative has issued a statement on the subject: "We're currently focused on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game and don't have any details to share about a PC version at this time."

Screenshots of Grand Theft Auto V were released by Rockstar back in August. Rockstar had shown ten screenshots in all. The first screenshots showed that bicycles and jets would return to the Grand Theft Auto franchise. These vehicles were not present in Grand Theft Auto IV and its expansions, The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, as Liberty City wasn’t big enough to warrant the presence of jets. The omission of bicycles was puzzling though, but it could be argued that bicycles didn’t go with the more serious tone of the GTA IV games.

The previous game in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV, starred Nico Bellic, a fresh off the boat immigrant in Liberty City, which was geographically based on New York. The game’s major theme was a satire of the “American Dream”, with Nico Bellic trying to run away from his past.

After GTA IV, Rockstar released two major expansion packs for the games - The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. The Lost and the Damned stars a new protagonist, Johnny Klebitz, who is a member of Liberty City’s Motorcycle Club The Lost, a club which was featured in missions throughout the course of GTA IV. The Ballad of Gay Tony stars another protagonist, Luis Lopez. The game shows the more 'glamorous' side of Liberty City, with its vibrant nightlife. Rockstar later on released both the games in a single standalone box titled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City.