During Take-Two's shareholders' meeting which took place yesterday, the publisher said that the long-awaited GTA IV has gone gold. The game, which already is the most expected game of the year, is slated for an April 29 release date. However, pirated versions may surface on filesharing sites a few days before that date. GTA IV is rated M for Mature and will be released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Quoting several unnamed industry analysts, Variety predicts that the latest installment of the GTA franchise will register sales of $400 million for the first week of availability. The publication also alleges that GTA IV may gain not only the title of the best debut in videogames industry, but also the title of “the biggest debut ever for an entertainment product”.

Also, GTA IV is allegedly going to bring in $400 million during its first week.

“You can expect a large awareness campaign from us, showcasing how great GTA IV on Xbox 360 is, and what great value the Xbox 360 console is too. Our campaign is the same sort of scale as our Halo 3 campaign last year,” said Xbox UK's head of gaming and entertainment Stephen McGill, speaking to MCV.

GTA IV was initially scheduled to be launched on October 16, 2007, but in August the Take Two officials decided that there is no way the development team could meet the goal of perfecting the engine in time to meet the deadline.

For the first time in the history of the franchise, GTA IV will offer multiplayer capabilities, with up to 15 modes, each of them supporting up to 16 players. There are five new missions that a player can complete: “Call and Collect,” “Final Interview,” “Search and Delete,” “Deconstruction for Beginners” and “Truck Hustle.”

Besides the standard version, which costs $59.99, GTA IV will be also offered a Special Edition. The game is presented in a customized Grand Theft Auto metal safety deposit box.

The box will contain: Grand Theft Auto IV with special packaging, the Grand Theft Auto IV Art Book, featuring never-before-seen production artwork from Grand Theft Auto IV, selected soundtrack CD from Grand Theft Auto IV, featuring new material from top artists, only available on this release, an exclusive Rockstar keychain for the safety deposit box keys Those gamers who eagerly await the Special Edition will have to spend $89.99 in North America or 89.99 euros in Europe.