Infamous analyst Michael Pachter is expecting a soon to be announced release date for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V from publisher Take-Two, but what that expectation is based on is anyone's guess.
In a Q3 Preview released to investors, the analyst wrote: "Grand Theft Auto V's release date remains elusive, frustrating shareholders. TTWO initially provided FY:13 EPS guidance in "excess of $2.00" in May 2011, a strong indication of GTA V's release, but conceded that it would not ship in FY:13 last August when it lowered EPS guidance for the year to $0.00 - 0.20. Investor confidence appears shaken by repeated, unexpected, and unjustified swings in profit and loss. If Rockstar is ready to confide in Take-Two management, we may learn the launch date next week."
Heavy emphasis on "may."
Pachter added that he expects "a launch in May," which fits with Rockstar's planned spring release date, but the company has yet to offer something more specific.
A German retailer, as well as Amazon, both had the game's release date primed for March, but this was never confirmed by either Rockstar or Take-Two.
Featuring three playable characters, a first for the series, Grand Theft Auto V takes place in a re-imagined, present-day Southern California in the largest and most thriving game-world we have ever created set in the sprawling city of Los Santos and for miles beyond - from the tops of the mountains to the depths of the ocean.
Not much is known about the story, but Rockstar has confirmed there will be multiple endings, and the story will be about the same length as Red Dead Redemption, at about 25 - 30 hours. Keep in mind, that's before the massive amount of secondary things to do, so this should be a monster of a game.
Until they say otherwise, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V will release worldwide in the Spring of 2013 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A PC release hasn't been announced, though a petition is making the rounds on the internet to have the title brought to the platform. Likewise, there's similarly been no word on a release for the Wii U.
Rockstar is offering a free t-shirt for anyone who pre-orders the game from the Rockstar Warehouse.
