Microsoft has announced that it plans to release Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as part of its Xbox Originals service on the Xbox 360. The game is set to arrive on October 20 and people who are willing to play the 1 200 Microsoft Points price tag will be able to download the title on their consoles. Because the game is pretty big, you will need an Xbox 360 Premium or Elite in order to take advantage of the offer.

The Xbox Originals initiative from Microsoft is aimed at preserving those games which have made an impact on gamers. Titles such as Halo: Combat Evolved, Ninja Gaiden Black and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory are already available on the service and there are plans to add more during 2009.

GTA: San Andreas was launched back in 2004 and managed to sell more than 20 million units on platforms like the PC, the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox 360. The game is credited as being the one to have clearly presented the open world concept which Grand Theft Auto IV and Saints Row 2 have taken and perfected. It also included an interesting story, with characters that at times seemed taken directly out of Hollywood movies. The game is also noted for the controversy which was sparked by the Hot Coffee mod, which sparked a law suit and a lot of media coverage.

Fans of the series will not forget that Microsoft promised that this fall would also see the release of extra content which should be exclusive for the latest installment in the GTA series. The company said that the extra content would be important enough to attract back gamers who had already finished the game, but we currently have no clear release date and no confirmation from Rockstar, the developers of GTA IV.