James Delahunty
23 May 2012 20:41
Take-Two's financial figures appear to anticipate major launch.
The publishers' figures show that it anticipates between $1.75-$1.85 billion for the year ending March 31, 2013. According to analysts, this figure hints heavily that Rockstar's anticipated next instalment of the Grand Theft Auto series will launch sometime before then.
Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter had already said that the delay of the upcoming BioShock title hinted that GTA V will launch, and now he agrees with other analysts that Take-Two's revenue projections make the case even stronger.
Pachter believes that the guidance is "unattainable" without a major Rockstar title. He believes the developer will provide $1.1 billion to Take-Two's bottom line, with $300 million coming from Max Payne 3 and its DLC, and a further $150 million from Rockstar's existing catalog. That leaves a void of $650 million, which Pachter believes could easily be accounted for by GTA V.
There were also reports that Microsoft's Xbox Support Twitter feed had accidentally revealed that GTA V will launch in 2012, but that it removed the tweet later on. Adding to fuel to the speculation, the support team later Tweeted, "There is no official release date for [GTAV], and we are not aware of what date it comes out."
E3 is being seen as a probable venue for the release details to be provided.