Rockstar Games has announced today that the Heists DLC for Grand Theft Auto V will be launching on March 10 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
While that's certainly good news for those fans who have been waiting for this anticipated online feature since it was teased in September of 2013, the bad news is that the PC version of GTA 5 has once again been pushed forward to April 14.
The good-news-bad-news announcements were made on the Rockstar blog earlier today along with a handful of shiny new screenshots to keep us excited for the Heists content.
"We know it's been a wait, and appreciate your patience," Rockstar said in the post. "Heists will bring a brand new 4-player cooperative gameplay experience to GTA Online, giving players the chance to team up to pull off a string of intense, multi-part raids and robberies across Los Santos and Blaine County. Over the next couple of weeks, we will have more information about the launch of Heists and about other new features that we will release with it."
Many fans believed that Heists would drop at the same time as the PC launch of the game, but not too many expected Heists to actually launch more than a month before the Windows version. But Rockstar understands that players may be frustrated over yet another delay, so they aim to sweeten the deal a bit.
"Our apologies to PC gamers worldwide who have been counting down the days until the launch of the game, but a bit more time is needed to ensure that the game is as polished as possible, and to make certain that both Heists and the GTA Online experience are ready to roll out on day one for PC," Rockstar said. "As a gesture of thanks for your understanding, we will grant anyone who has pre-ordered the game an additional $200,000 in-game cash for use in GTA Online."
The reason that the Heists DLC delay has frustrated so many players is the fact that the game has already been out for a year and a half and the heists seen in single-player story mode were not available in the multiplayer online version. This was a big selling point for the game originally, but Rockstar is banking on the wait being worth it.
Even so, any new content is at risk for bugs and glitches, so the development teams asks that you contact Rockstar Support with any problems you encounter with Heists.
The PC version, on the other hand, is said to be Rockstar's "most graphically and technically advanced version yet" for a wide variety of PC hardware configurations. This is the main reason for the multiple delays on PC, but Rockstar assures us that this version will feature "a host of PC-specific enhancements including greater levels of detail, deep configuration options and ultra-high-definition support - as well as the powerful new Rockstar Editor for recording, staging and editing original custom videos."
One good thing about the PC delay is that it gives you a chance to update your PC to meet the game's recommended specs, listed below.
Minimum specifications:
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 64 Bit Service Pack 2* (*NVIDIA video card recommended if running Vista OS)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs) / AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs) @ 2.5GHz
Memory: 4GBVideo Card: NVIDIA 9800 GT 1GB / AMD HD 4870 1GB (DX 10, 10.1, 11)
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD Space: 65GB
DVD Drive
Recommended specifications:
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs)
Memory: 8GBVideo Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD Space: 65GB
DVD Drive