‘GTA’ 5 Release Date Leaked: March 2013 Launch For ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Confirmed Online [TRAILER]

The GTA 5 release date has been confirmed for early 2013, March 15 to be exact. The news was leaked by Saturn, a German electronics chain.

The GTA 5 release date was being kept a secret by Rockstar, which had only revealed that the highly anticipated title would launch in the spring of 2013. But Saturn has leaked the information online, revealing that the next "Grand Theft Auto" game will hit stores on March 15, according to PCGames . Saturn is also offering a pre-order bundle for GTA 5 ahead of the release date that features a free poster.

The Examiner notes that this is the second GTA 5 release date rumor to have leaked online in the past few weeks, suggesting that the latest news may not be legitimate and noting that "it still should be filed under the rumor category with high skepticism."

The online news-site goes on to note that the previous GTA 5 release date leak pegged the game's launch for March 26. They also note that the 15th is a Friday, which would break with "Grand Theft Auto" developer Rockstar's trend of releasing their biggest titles on Tuesdays.

Leading up to the end of 2012, Rockstar released a number of GTA 5 screenshots without naming a release date. Pictures of gameplay revealed the new main characters, as well as just some of the sweet new cars we're looking forward to stealing and driving in "Grand Theft Auto V." Beyond autos, GTA V will also a feature a submarine and a jumbo jet, according to the screenshots.

Here's some more GTA 5 screenshot analysis from T3, who went way more in depth than we ever could:

"The Grand Theft Auto series has always had a reputation for having one of the largest open world maps and Grand Theft Auto V looks set to continue the theme with the oceans now being opened up to gamers.

"One of the pictures shows a shark swimming next to an unsuspecting human not only revealing that the game will most definitely head to the watery depths but also suggesting that you'll be taking on nature as well as other humans."

T3 also notes that Rockstar is considering a PC version of GTA 5, but has yet to confirm or deny this rumor. Word on the street is that they may also bring "Grand Theft Auto Five" to the Nintendo Wii U.

ItProPortal has their own take on the latest GTA 5 rumors, arguing that a March release date is unlikely. The tech news-site points out that Rockstar is owned by Take-Two Interactive, which will also be releasing the new Bioshock Infinite game that same month. It seems unlikely that the company would put two of its own games in direct competition with each other, but we won't know anything for sure until Rockstar makes an official announcement.

So what do we know about GTA 5 so far besides for a few release date rumors? Well, we know there will be at least three controllable characters (Michael, Trevor and Franklin). We know we're be driving helicopters, using parachutes and speeding around the city in cars.