Grand Theft Auto V Might Appear After March, 2013, Analyst Says

Grand Theft Auto V, the next installment in the hugely successful open-world series made by Rockstar Games, might appear after March, 2013, at least according to analyst Colin Sebastian.

Even if GTA V has been awaited for quite some time, developer Rockstar has kept the project under a shroud of secrecy, as it's only released a few screenshots and an early video.

This led to a lot of speculation about the game's release date and, given the fact that publisher Take-Two is expecting a net revenue of $1.8 billion (around €1.3 billion) for the 2012 financial year, many believe that GTA V will be released before March, 2013, when the financial year closes.

That might not be true, however, as RW Baird analyst Colin Sebastian believes Rockstar's constant desire for perfection might push the release of Grand Theft Auto V well into 2013.

"By no means am I convinced that Grand Theft Auto V will miss March," he told Gamespot, "but there are a couple of factors to consider. One, we haven't heard anything definitive from the company on release timing."

"Second, retailers typically would want four to six months lead time to prepare for a launch as large as GTA, and from what I understand, they haven't heard anything.

"Third, Rockstar rightly prioritizes game quality over release date, and this dynamic could shift timing."

Other analysts predicted different release windows for the game, with some speculating that it would appear this October, while others nominated March, 2013, as the month when GTA V should finally be unveiled.

Neither Rockstar nor Take-Two has actually revealed details about GTA V, limiting themselves to confirming that it's well into development and that a release date is going to be announced when the time is right.