Grand Theft Auto V due by end of March 2013 - Analysts
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Analysts suggest Take-Two's latest earnings report factors in release of new entry in flagship franchise from Rockstar Games.
Grand Theft Auto V will ship by the end of March 2013, multiple analysts are predicting based on Take-Two's latest financial report. Yesterday, the company announced it is planning to haul between $1.75 and $1.85 billion for the year ending March 31, 2013. This marked increase over last year's haul factors in, according to analysts, the release of GTAV.
Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter said Take-Two's guidance is "unattainable" without a new big title from Rockstar Games. The industry watcher predicts Rockstar will contribute $1.1 billion to Take-Two's bottom line in fiscal 2013, with $300 million of that coming from Max Payne 3 and its downloadable content. He said another $150 million will be made up by Rockstar catalog sales, which leaves a void of $650 million. Pachter suggests that figure will be made up by sales of GTAV.
Robert W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian echoed Pachter's belief that GTAV will ship in the next year. In a note to investors, Sebastian said Take-Two's latest guidance for the current year suggests the new open-world title will ship during March 2013. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia's estimations indicate that the new game will arrive by then, too.
Analysts aren't the only ones talking about an upcoming GTAV launch. A NeoGAF user claims Microsoft's Xbox Support Twitter service revealed that GTAV will be out sometime in 2012. The tweet in question has since been deleted, but the support channel has sounded off on the speculation, writing this morning, "There is no official release date for [GTAV], and we are not aware of what date it comes out."
In April, Rockstar said further GTAV details are months away. That time frame lines up with the game industry's biggest information-drop event of the year, the Electronic Entertainment Expo. This year's show will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center June 5-7.
Rockstar has provided brief glimpses at GTAV thus far. The game will be set primarily in present-day Los Santos, a fictional town modeled on Los Angeles. Rockstar has also said that GTAV boasts the largest scope of any installment in the franchise to date.
For more on GTAV, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
181 comments
If I can wait as long as I've waited for Half-Life 3, then I can wait until 2013 for GTA V
march 2013 seems more logical, fools keep saying it'll be out at the end of 2012, just wishful thinking on their part
Simply cannot wait for this game. I'm moving my freezer to the game store and freezing myself until then.
If I'm not mistaken the last GTA game came out in March as well. March seems to be a big month for video game releases. Good thing my birthday is March 23rd :)
I would hope they release this year.
I mean, it's been so long, making us wait till 2013 would be criminal.
Considering that october/november is generally the favourite for big releases due to christmas, and the fact that GTA V was announced so long ago. My own personal prediction would be for the end of this year.
But rockstar will probably ruin my dreams.
we have MP3 , Sleeping Dogs , Hitman and maybe a couple more thrillers while
we're waiting ! but , by the release date I will be ready !
2 Like i cant wait for it to finally come out i love the gta series but each gta is always worth the wait
It was only a matter of time before this game got delayed. With Max Payne 3's release this year being prepared so much by TakeTwo and Rockstar Games, it is no surprise that this may very well occur. Nevertheless, I am still playing GTA IV, so GTA V can wait, for all I care.
i would say october before the big game rush, the facts r there saying there gonna make so and so and none of the games they are releasing will sell that much and there fiscal year ends march 31st so by march 31st they will release gta 5 i will say october cuz it doesnt make sense to release end of march and only allowing a week of sales for take two to meet there quota
Rockstar always generates hype for there game for ages before they release a date, and when they do its normally the next year and all the other GTA's have come out in October time so im predicting next year.
@suhai_virmani I'm kind of partial to what you are saying.
However ...while I can certainly confirm the October release dates for GTA3 [2001], GTA: VC [2002] and GTA: SA [2004] (All PS2 versions, PC versions released in March the following year).
The release date for GTA IV was on April 29th, 2008, so I think they did away with the October release date when they shipped GTA IV.
But the fact that they haven't even released more information than the one single trailer and that the last game was released in April (which has already come and gone this year). I too think that we'll be looking at a Q2 2013 release.
Just my $0.02
@Logixyz Both of you are wrong...
Rockstar released the debut trailer for GTA IV on March 29, 2007. The game was scheduled to be released in mid October of that same year. Obviously there were delays, but we should remember Rockstar was working with new tech and developing for new consoles.
GTA SA was announced in March of 2004 and the first trailer came in August of that same year, which was only a couple months before the game released in October.
GTA VC was announced in May of 2002 and we got the first trailer in August of that year. And the game came out later that year in October.
I'm not sure when GTA III was announced, but Gamespot's "First Look" for the game was in February 2001. The first trailer came in May 2001. And yep, the game was released in October of that same year.
Rockstar never, "generates hype for there game for ages before they release a date". And I don't think GTA IV's April release date changes the fact that Rockstar's goal is to release GTA games in October, less than a year after they show us the debut trailer.
Wow how smart of them to come up with such a prediction, so I guess I'm supposed to get excited over it right?
Sorry but wrong! My own analysis tells me that the analysts are wrong and that this article is a poor way to generate hype and is worthless garbage!
yeah...this is getting old.
Here let me try....
Im an anylist....i suspect a major release sometime in the near future from one or many publishers, possibly after Q1!
wow im smart, can i have a paycheck?
call us when you have news, not rumors, gossip, or info from someone who doesn't actually have facts to report.
1 Like How many times is an analyst going to predict a SPRING launch for a magor gaming franchise that ALWAYS launches in the holiday season? ...
@conspirethis yep gta 4 was definitely was April & the rest are usually octoberish time hardly full on holiday season.
8 Like Dear Gamespot:
If you want to use the damned nonsense these "analysts" keep spitting, as actual news, at least put the word Analyst before the whole title, and not after.
If possible, I'd rather read real news; for speculation and various crap, there are these comments.
Yours truly, one of your beloved readers and complainers.
One major thing i noticed that i am glad is back, is silencers. You can clearnly see them on the ak47's the paint heist guys were carrying so indeed they are included in the game, however what could be more itneresting is the addition of add-ons to weapons. never before has this been incuded in a GTA game to date, however the idea of buying addons to weapons especially silencers would be more than welcome making robberies much easier and not limiting it to just one gun with a silencer like in san andreas.
Another note is that if we follow the history of grand theft auto, no character has ever really started out rich and at the top. The stories beginning is either fresh out of jail, (GTA3), just off the plane with no money (San Andreas), or just off the boat to see your cuzin whos fat and broke (GTA4). So the idea that the man seen narrating, is indeed only narrating. But who knows, maybe well go back to the old days where your main character has everything then loses it, then you spend the rest of the game trying to get it back and then some....Any feedback?
1 Like sounds about right given over the last 3yrs rockstar games have released there titles in 1 quater of the year
1 Like I wont mind it coming out in Oct/Dec 2012 but if it doesn't, I'll have plenty games to hold me down until it does come out (apparently april 2013).
Will Rockstar attend E3 2012? hmhmm
I hope they don't rush release just to stuff it into this fiscal year, and here's two fingers crossed for a good PC version released at the same time as the console one.
2 Like i just want to know system specs. i really hope that this (PC) version won't be another rushed console port.
6 Like Politicians and Analysts have the easiest jobs, you just need to be good at bullshitting.
1 Like analyst must be the best job in the world. just be captain obvious and everything rolls. here is my analysis: it will have rained at least once by the end of march 2013.
2 Like I just want the game to be released early enough so I can play it before the world's supposedly is going to end.
hmm, the end of march ? well I hope it's not the end of days ! ...
I have something to look forward to near my mid march birthday other than getting older ! keep them coming R* , by the way what ever happened to "coming soon" -
AGENT ? ....
@vivalatour Ohhhh don't even get me started on that one!!! I was so excited for that game and it's completely vanished. Lets hope for E3.
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Related Game
Grand Theft Auto V
- Publisher(s): Rockstar Games
- Developer(s): Rockstar North
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- PEGI: 18+
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