Rockstar announces Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for October '04

The next game in the multi-million selling Grand Theft Auto franchise will be Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which is on schedule for a launch in mid-October and will once again appear exclusively on the PlayStation 2.

According to Rockstar Games, which announced the title this afternoon, GTA: San Andreas will ship in North America on October 19th, with a European launch following a few days later on October 22nd.

The game will be exclusive on the PlayStation 2 next Christmas, and no mention has yet been made of a PC or Xbox version of the title - although if the company follows the same system it used with GTA3 and Vice City, a PC version will follow a few months later, in Spring 2005, with an Xbox version a possibility for Christmas 2005.

" In the past couple of years, we have put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves to ensure we do everything possible to exceed people's expectations with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," according to Rockstar Games president Sam Houser. "Even though we still have eight months to go, we are starting to become very proud of what we have achieved and we can't wait to get the game into players' hands."

The pressure is certainly on Rockstar, and parent company Take Two, to prove the mettle of the series with this third instalment. Grand Theft Auto 3 has now sold around 10.5 million units worldwide, while Vice City has sold 11.5 million units - giving San Andreas a formidable legacy to live up to.

"We are extremely humbled by the success of the Grand Theft Auto series," commented Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies, "and it has made us push ourselves further than ever to create a title in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that will hopefully redefine the Grand Theft Auto series and revolutionize open-ended gameplay and video game production values."