Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter has claimed that Take-Two management let slip to him that development on a fresh installment in the venerable Grand Theft Auto series has been underway for the past twelve months.
According to the analyst, the new game will apparently take advantage of the same ‘engines’ as the most recent entry (presumably referring to Grand Theft Auto IV), and believes it will shift in the region of 15 – 18 million copies.
Furthermore, while hazy on an exact release window, he stated that the title will arrive on the scene before the end of fiscal 2011, but may not be released before October 31, 2010 – this ties in neatly with Take-Two’s recent revelation that a new GTA game will not see the light of day in fiscal 2010.
Speaking in a research note issued today, Pachter commented, "When we do the simple math, we conclude that the next instalment is likely to be completed by some time in 2010, although given the frequency of game delays, it is not clear that it will necessarily come before October 31, 2010.â€
"However, it is clear to us that the next version of GTA will arrive before the end of FY:11."
