GTA 5 gets a September 17th release date

It's official folks. Many were excited to finally get their hands on Rockstar's latest open-world game this Spring, but looks like we'll have to wait just a bit longer. Make that a lot longer.

Rockstar released an official statement regarding the delay, stating the reasons why, and giving the official release date.

Dear all,

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.

Yours,

The GTA Team

While at this point it doesn't really come as a shock anymore. The game is so highly anticipated that it's only natural that Rockstar wants to ensure nothing but the best when it comes to the final product.

However, the delay could have something to do with the PC version. We reported about a possible leaked PC version via LinkedIn yesterday. Though history dictates that a PC version of Grand Theft Auto games, at least GTA 3 and onwards, always had delayed PC releases. Could Rockstar possibly be planning to release it on consoles and PC simultaneously?

September might just be a little too early to speculate whether this delay could be because of Rockstar wanting time to port it to Next-gen consoles, but hey, we can dream right?

I just hope the wait is worth it.