NVIDIA has been spilling some beans lately. First they confirmed the existence of a Microsoft MSFT +0.52% Surface RT follow up, for which they’re handling processing duties (presumably a Tegra 4). Now, the company has given PC gamers a heaping helping of hope by flat-out stating that Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto V will release for PC this fall.
The reveal occurred during an earnings call (transcribed by Seeking Alpha and spotted by Crave Online) hosted by Chris Evenden, NVIDIA’s Senior Director of Investor Relations. Evenden was outlining the changes in the PC market — changes which PC gamers are affecting — before he explained that the demographic is “preparing their systems for a strong roster of games coming this fall, including blockbuster franchises, such as Call of Duty: Ghosts, Grand Theft Auto V and Assassin’s Creed IV.”
You can rest assured that isn’t a random trio of titles. NVIDIA is working directly with Ubisoft developers to optimize Assassin’s Creed IV, and past Call of Duty partnerships exist between Activision and NVIDIA. Maybe we’ll see the game bundled with an existing GeForce GTX graphics card?
Perhaps NVIDIA even has a hard release date for GTA V under their hat, but the “fall” window is still reassuring. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions land on September 17, meaning PC users may not have to wait long for what they know will be the superior version of the game.
In the past, Rockstar Games has been slow to adopt PC ports of their popular titles, and in some cases — like Red Dead Redemption — those ports never materialized. With such a high profile release, anticipated by a burgeoning PC gaming audience, Grand Theft Auto fans took to Change.org recently to petition Rockstar to release a PC version of GTA V. The petition currently has 314,000 signatures. If NVIDIA’s words ring true, that petition won’t be necessary.
This information comes just days before Rockstar is poised to unveil the details of GTA V’s multiplayer component. I’ve reached out to both Rockstar and NVIDIA for any further clarification.
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