Retailer GameStop has today begun selling redeemable tokens for Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned, the upcoming downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV.

The DLC is priced at $19.99, according to the product listing. The code can be redeemed for the content when Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned is released on February 17.

The December 2-due PC release of Grand Theft Auto IV will utilize the oft-criticized SecuROM copy protection, publisher Rockstar has confirmed, though some controversial SecuROM features, such as install limits, will not be utilized.

"SecuROM is the most effective form of disc based copy protection and allows us to manage authenticity on a global level for Grand Theft Auto IV," IGN was told.

The game requires a one-time activation via an internet connection, and those with a physical copy will need to have the game disc in their DVD drive while they play.

However, the retail version will have no install limits, with Rockstar clarifying that the physical version "can be installed on an unlimited number of PCs by the retail disk owner." As for digital distribution, the company stated that "each digital download vendor has its own policy on the number of installations that are allowed."

The studio also noted, in an ominous tone, that "using a cracked copy of GTA IV PC will result in varying changes to the game experience," explaining that "these can range from comical to game-progress-halting changes."

More details addressing common SecuROM complains, including required software installations and re-authentication, can be found below... Read more

The PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV doubles the 16-person multiplayer limit of the console versions and allows 32 players to play online together, Rockstar has confirmed.

That doubling is the extent of the promised "newly expanded multiplayer," according to IGN. The site noted that the PC edition packs all of the same multiplayer modes as the previously-released PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 iterations, with the higher player count of certain modes, such as GTA Race and Team Deathmatch, being the only difference.

In addition to more online players, publisher and developer Rockstar has been touting the PC version's new Video Editor functionality. The port hits retailers on December 2.

Further showcasing the in-game Video Editor included with the PC edition of Grand Theft Auto IV, publisher Rockstar has released two more vignettes that were made with nothing but the Video Editor itself. The enhanced PC port arrives December 2.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Valve has announced that the PC port of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 4 is now available for pre-order on the Steam digital distribution service.

Those who buy the game ahead of time on Steam will receive the full PC version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as a pre-order bonus.

Grand Theft Auto IV has received a few new features in its transition to the PC platform--most notably the video editor, which was detailed in a trailer released earlier today.

The PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV hits stores December 2.

The Chicago Transit Authority will reinstate the Grand Theft Auto 4 ads that it pulled from Chicago buses back in the spring, but after a short run the CTA will no longer accept ads for M-rated games.

A settlement was reached only recently after publisher Take-Two sued the CTA for breach of contract over the incident before the game was released in April, reports Chicago Breaking News as noticed by GamePolitics.

Under the settlement, Grand Theft Auto 4 ads will appear on Chicago buses for the next six weeks. Other terms of the settlement remain confidential.

After that, the CTA will no longer run ads for M-rated games under a new ordinance passed by the CTA board last week. According to Chicago Breaking News, the ordinance "cites a 'demonstrable correlation' between intensely violent video games and violent or aggressive behavior.

The Grand Theft Auto ads, both then and now, include no overtly violent, sexual or otherwise graphic materials that would normally prohibit ... Read more

Continuing our earlier look at the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV, publisher Rockstar has issued more in-game movies created with the PC-exclusive Video Editor, along with a number of details regarding its functionality. The port hits stores December 2.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

The all new Video Editor feature allows you to capture in-game footage, make real time edits and render those clips out as WMV movie files. The clips can also be spliced together into a video complete with post effects like music, text and transitions, and other features... Read more

Update: The first screenshots of The Lost and Damned DLC have arrived.

Original Story: Rockstar Games today announced that downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto 4 will not be released this holiday season, dating the new episode for February 17 of next year.

Titled "The Lost and Damned," the DLC will center around a new main character, and features a plot that intersects with the main storyline of the original game. The DLC will also include new multiplayer modes, weapons, vehicles and music.

Pricing will be announced at a later date.

As Rockstar prepares the unleash the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV on December 2, the company has provided a number of new screenshots and sample movies from the video editor tool packed in the PC release of the open-world action game.

Rockstar stressed that all the videos were made with the tools included in the PC version. Once the game arrives, players will be able to share their created films via Rockstar's community website Social Club TV.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick let slip during a presentation in New York that both Grand Theft Auto 4's Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable content and Rockstar Leeds' Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS) are facing delays.

On the DLC front, MTV Multiplayer quoted Zelnick as saying, "It's close to being complete. That said, it may move into the second quarter." Take-Two's Q2 starts on February 1, which could place the DLC well beyond the fall 2008 target.

Zelnick's statement puts an even longer hypothetical delay on the DLC than that of producer Sam Houser, who expressed uncertainty this week whether the added content would reach the Xbox Live Marketplace this year. Currently, that DLC is expected in Take-Two's current quarter, which runs from November to January.

As for the Nintendo DS' first iteration in the hijacking-happy action series, Kotaku has Zelnick on the record with the following: "Chinatown Wars we've decided to move out of the first quarter in order to fill out a better launch and marketing window. The title will ship in the first half of our fiscal year."

The executive pegs Chinatown Wars for Take-Two's fiscal Q2, which means the drug-dealing handheld title is expected between February 1 and April 30, 2009.

Grand Theft Auto 4 producer Dan Houser revealed that the open-world hijacking sim's upcoming DLC release could slip out of its fall 2008 release window.

"I'm not sure. It's going well. But we don't know a date," remarked Houser to Variety when asked about the release date. "We're still figuring out a few things. We're more focused on quality than dates, always have been," he added.

The first of two 360-exclusive downloadable expansion packs for Grand Theft Auto 4 has been expected this fall, according to persistent statements and rumors. Officially, the DLC is expected by publisher Take-Two in its fiscal Q1 2009, putting it between November 1 and January 31, 2009.

"We hope to be announcing [a date] in the next few weeks," said Houser.

Confirming a release date change on retailer websites earlier this week, IGN reports that the PC version of Grand Theft Auto 4 is now indeed shipping December 2. Publisher Rockstar Games did not specify as to why the game was moved back two weeks.

IGN's story notes the following minimum system requirements for the game, in addition to the recommended specs revealed in September.

Minimum System Requirements

• OS: Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8Ghz, AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4Ghz
• Memory: 1.5GB, 16GB Free Hard Drive Space
• Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900

Recommended System Requirements

• OS: Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz, AMD Phenom X3 2.1Ghz
• Memory: 2 GB (Windows XP) 2.5 GB (Windows Vista)
• 18 GB Free Hard Drive Space
• Video Card: 512MB NVIDIA 8600 / 512MB ATI 3870

Retailer listings brought to our attention by Joystiq show that the PC port of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV may have seen a quiet two-week delay. Product pages for the game on both GameStop and Amazon now list the port as releasing on December 2. The game was initially scheduled by Rockstar for a November 18 release.

The PC port of Grand Theft Auto IV is expected to feature both graphical and gameplay enhancements, including a video replay editor and additions to the title's multiplayer component.

Shacknews has contacted Rockstar for comment on the date changes.

With less than a month until Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV hits PCs--look for it November 18, and scope out the recommended specs--publisher Rockstar provides a look at the criminal antics that have been available to console owners since late April.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

A downloadable update for Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV will bring trophy support and 51 unlockable achievements to the PlayStation 3 edition next Monday, October 27, publisher Rockstar has announced.

Trophies were added in a recent PlayStation 3 firmware update, allowing developers to reward players for their in-game accomplishments, similar to Xbox 360's achievements.

A few examples of the trophies were provided... Read more

Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City has been hit by a virus causing players to turn into zombies.

"There is a virus sweeping through Grand Theft Auto IV turning many unsuspecting players into zombies," explains a release from publisher Rockstar.

Zombies are signified by a "zombie-with-yellow-briefs player skin." However, Rockstar warns that "the infected DON'T necessarily have to be wearing the zombie skin," as "some show NO SYMPTOMS!"

The virus is spread by killing an infected player in any multiplayer mode, and Rockstar has set up a page within its Social Club website to track the infection across the world.

Those seeking to begin the zombie outbreak will need the "Let Sleeping Rockstars Lie" achievement--earned by killing a Rockstar developer in a ranked match--before being able to choose the infected zombie appearance for multiplayer.

Microsoft today announced that the PC port of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV will exclusively use Games for Windows Live for its multiplayer component when it is released on November 18.

"As we work toward the release of the PC version, Games for Windows Live affords us the opportunity to seamlessly translate the multiplayer console experience for PC gamers," said Rockstar founder Sam Houser. "The service is a natural fit for the platform and we strongly believe it will help in building a strong online community around GTA IV PC."

According to the Microsoft, GTA 4 PC will benefit from upcoming Live features such as "a redesigned game interface, out-of-game client and marketplace."

The port is set to feature graphics improvements, a new replay/clip editing mode, and multiplayer additions.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, speaking yesterday at the company's Analyst Day event, said he couldn't answer a question from an analyst about attempting to hire Sam and Dan Houser, the producers of the Grand Theft Auto series for rival publisher Take-Two.

Kotick did, however, say this: "We really embrace the individual studio model. We know how to take studios and talented teams and appropriately incentivize them. We’ve definitely become the destination location for independently minded entrepreneurial talent," which Silicon Alley Insider translates from PR-speak to an implicit acknowledgement that Activision may try to hire the duo.

The very "independently minded" Houser brothers have together served as producers for the Grand Theft Auto series since Grand Theft Auto 3, seeing it rise into a franchise worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Their contract expires in February 2009, which may send them running to the highest bidder.

While any potential moves on the brothers' part are officially speculation as of now, even a PR-sanitized quote from Kotick serves as the first public acknowledgement from a rival publisher that the two may leave the publisher they helped to build into a major player.

The official Games for Windows website has released the recommended system specs for the upcoming PC port of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV.

Grand Theft Auto IV PC will include an expanded multiplayer component, improved graphics, and a gameplay clip editing suite when it hits the PC on November 18.

The recommended specs are as follows:

• OS: Windows XP SP2
• Processor: Dual core processor (Intel Pentium D or better)
• RAM: 2GB
• Hard Drive: 18GB free hard disk space
• Video Card: 512MB Direct3D 10 compatible video card or Direct3D 9 card compatible with Shader
• Drive: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive

An ordinary current event has been made extraordinary by injecting a little Grand Theft Auto--eleven-year-old Audrey Plique helped to extract her family from a rollover car accident with the help of Rockstar's hijack-happy action game, according to The Times of Ottawa, IL.

"She just knew, from playing 'Grand Theft Auto.' She saw on there that when a car rolls over, it can blow up. She knew that could happen to us," said Karen Norris, Plique's mother.

Norris's family of five was traveling through rural Illinois in a Jeep Grand Cherokee when driver Robert Norris, Jr., "felt lightheaded" and the car went off the road, rolling over four times before landing on its side in a ditch. Plique then discovered the rear window had shattered and crawled out of the car before helping her family escape as well. There were no injuries aside from cuts and bruises.

The Times reported no danger of the car exploding.