Analyst Predicts GTA IV Delay News

It's been a date set in stone since it was first confirmed back at E3 2006: October 19th 2007; the day that Rockstar Games is due to release Grand Theft Auto IV onto Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Since then, Rockstar's parent company (Take-Two Interactive) has undergone a massive upheaval at the board room level, as Strauss Zelnick and his team attempt to turn the publisher's fortunes. But will GTA IV's release date be a casualty? According to one analyst, the answer is yes.

Ahead of Take-Two's earnings call on June 11th, Wedlock Morgan analyst, Michael Pachter suggests that a short delay of a couple of weeks could be on the cards, along with studio closures. In his statement, Pachter said, "We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to "throw in the towel" on FY:07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company's prospects for FY:08. We believe that a two-week delay would provide a reasonable gap between the launch of Halo 3 and the launch of GTA IV, and would actually help sales of both games."

TVG spoke to representatives from Rockstar Games about the rumoured delay, which they replied with a "No Comment". We might have to wait until June 11th to find out whether Pachter's crystal ball gazing turns out to be accurate.