April 25th UK release for GTA IV

MCV understands that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV will NOT be released in March as expected – and will in fact be held back until the last week in April.

Sources close to the game’s publisher have told MCV that the title’s UK release will miss the Easter period entirely, and will instead go on sale in the final week of Rockstar parent Take 2’s second financial quarter.

That would be in keeping with the company’s

latest financial statement

, which revealed the title would be released in its Q2 period – which runs from February to the end of April.

A Rockstar spokesperson told MCV that the publisher didn’t comment on ‘rumour and speculation’.

If true, the rest of the market will breathe a huge sigh of relief – as they can enjoy the lucrative Easter period without doing battle with one of the biggest releases in recent years.

The news has certainly come as a surprise to the trade. One prominent member of the channel told MCV:

The last I heard about GTA IV’s release was a couple of months ago, when all the changes were taking place at Take 2’s UK offices. Since then, they’ve gone a bit quiet on what’s going on with GTA IV.

The way Take 2 work on GTA has always been very secretive. I’d expect some more concrete news from them two or three weeks before release.”