GTA V release date announced

Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, has announced that Grand Theft Auto V is expected to launch worldwide on 17 September 2013, for PS3 and Xbox 360. No word on a PC version was given.

The September release date moves the launch back from its original projected release window of spring 2013 in order to allow additional development time, Rockstar said in a press statement.

“Grand Theft Auto V continues to push the series forward in new ways; Rockstar North are creating our deepest, most beautiful and most immersive world yet,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “We are very excited for people to learn more about the game in the coming months.”

GTA V screenshot

In Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar promises “the biggest, most dynamic and most diverse open world Rockstar Games has yet created.”

All the classic hallmarks of the series return, including attention to detail, a darkly humorous take on modern culture, alongside a brand new and ambitious approach to open world multiplayer.

Players will fill the role of three protagonists as their storylines interweave through the game.

The game is set in Los Santos: a sprawling sun-soaked metropolis full of self-help gurus, starlets and fading celebrities, once the envy of the Western world, now struggling to stay afloat in an era of economic uncertainty and cheap reality TV.

Amidst the turmoil, three very different criminals plot their own chances of survival and success: Franklin, a former street gangster, now looking for real opportunities and serious money; Michael, a professional ex-con whose retirement is a lot less rosy than he hoped it would be; and Trevor, a violent maniac driven by the chance of a cheap high and the next big score.

Running out of options, the crew risks everything in a series of daring and dangerous heists that could set them up for life.