Grand Theft Auto V hits the streets in spring 2013

Grand Theft Auto Five poster
Get it while it's hot

Rockstar Games and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, on Tuesday finally dropped the news that everyone has been waiting for: Grand Theft Auto V is coming in the spring of 2013 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The game will be available for pre-order starting Nov. 5.

Developed by Rockstar North, GTA V is guaranteed to be one of the biggest games of 2013, which may explain why Rockstar doesn't need to worry about releasing it during the fall, when most blockbusters hit game store shelves.

Grand Theft Auto V was announced over a year ago, and it was revealed in the interim that, like 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, GTA V would be set in the game's fictional version of Los Angeles, dubbed "Los Santos."

But there's been little concrete news about the game since then, leaving the gaming world free to speculate about its story, setting and characters.

Go big or go back to Liberty City

Grand Theft Auto IV sold six million copies in its first week in 2008, totaling $500 million (UK£255, AU$482). By September 2011, the game had sold 22 million copies worldwide.

It was, at the time, the biggest media launch ever. Naturally, there's a bit of excitement over the sequel.

Rockstar's own press release called it "the largest and most ambitious" GTA game yet.

"Grand Theft Auto V builds on everything we've learned about open world game design," Rockstar Games Founder Sam Houser said in the announcement. "We can't wait to share it with fans."

Anything else?

Not much is known about the actual content of Grand Theft Auto V besides the setting of Los Santos.

The game could be positively enormous, though - looking at past generations of GTA games, it seems that could be the trend.

San Andreas, for example, is still the largest game in the series - going by simple in-game geography - trumping even GTA IV's Liberty City environment.

But San Andreas had two previous game to build on, just as GTA V will build on GTA IV, so Rockstar's promise of the biggest game yet could prove accurate.

One thing's for sure: it had better include jets and tanks from the get-go.

In the meantime, if you're dying for more open world delinquency, look no further than TechRadar's list of GTA clones you might actually want to check out.

Via Take-Two, Gamasutra

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.

Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.

Latest in Consoles & PC
Asus ROG Ally using Steam
I think Asus could be the perfect partner for an Xbox handheld – but I have questions
Astro Bot PS5 bundle
Sony officially announces new Astro Bot PS5 bundles and they're available from PlayStation Direct right now for bargain prices we can barely believe
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
Future PlayStation games could have AI-powered characters, if this leaked prototype of Aloy is anything to go by
The artwork for The Last of Us Limited Edition DualSense controller
Where to pre-order and buy The Last of Us Limited Edition DualSense controller today - UK pre-orders are live but stock has sold out already
Playing games on the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma without an external display.
The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma offers Steam Deck owners a premium design and, of course, plenty of RGB
Image of GTA 6 protagonists and PS5
GTA 6's console-only launch reminds me of how much I despise console exclusivity - is it worth waiting years for PC ports?
Latest in News
Google Pixel 8a in aloe green showing
Google Pixel 9a benchmark link teases the performance of the upcoming mid-ranger
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #1148)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #379)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #645)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro HANDS ON
Leaked iPhone 17 dummy units may have given us our best look yet at all four models
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over