May 9^th, 2006 (3:28pm) - This time, Xbox Nation won’t have to wait. Responding to the cries of millions of Xbox 360 owners, Microsoft and Rockstar Games, the universally renowned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., have struck a groundbreaking agreement that brings Grand Theft Auto IV to the Xbox 360 platform on day one of its global release.

"Grand Theft Auto IV," the next-generation console debut of the genre-defining "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, is expected to be in stores on Oct. 16, 2007, in North America and Oct. 19, 2007, in Europe.

"Few franchises have had the profound impact on our industry as Grand Theft Auto," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "Gamers can’t wait to play Grand Theft Auto IV in high definition on Xbox 360, and we couldn’t be more excited to have the title on our platform from day one"

Separately, Microsoft and Rockstar Games are proud to announce a strategic alliance to provide exclusive episodic content for Xbox Live, giving the community ever-expanding gameplay experiences that simply aren’t possible on other consoles.

"Through Xbox Live, we have a unique opportunity to reach out to our audience in new ways," said Sam Houser, executive producer and founder of Rockstar Games. "This strategic alliance allows us to craft experiences that fully leverage the on-demand distribution power and sheer size of Xbox Live."

The agreement to distribute exclusive Rockstar Games content via Xbox Live highlights the publishing community’s growing desire to feed gamers’ insatiable appetite for downloading new high-definition experiences and playing online. Since Xbox Live launched, fans have logged nearly 1.8 billion hours playing online and have downloaded more than 18 million pieces of content in just the past six months.

Grand Theft Auto IV will also be coming to the PS3.