Could the release date for Grand Theft Auto 5 have already been shown to us? Maybe so…

I don’t write about games on this site. The Hip-Hop side is my deal and I like sticking to that. However, this one is just too good for me to ignore. Yes, I am talking about Grand Theft Auto.

Recently, people have been speculating about the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto 5 release date and throwing the month “March” around, based on very rough online shop estimates. Back in October 2012, I noticed on one specific site of this description had March as a release date and they still claim that to this very day. Either; Rockstar likes this site very much and has decided not to give them a telling-off for leaking such a date OR…like I said previously, it’s a rough estimate.

I have my own speculation and it is based on a theory.

Now, to some keen followers of the speculation and such, part of this article won’t be news to you. However, I do feel that when this point was made on another site, it was glossed over due to some ignorance, which is understandable.

I am here to shed some light on this theory and maybe open a few eyes to what I think could be the possible release date for Grand Theft Auto 5:

May 24th, 2013.

How have I come to this conclusion? Well, let me explain…

Clue #1

Back in November, a very popular site that everyone likes to visit, broke down the first GTA 5 teaser trailer and during this process, they happened to mention the football team very dear to my heart – Rangers. Why has a football team from Scotland been mentioned? Well, there was a competition Rangers won in 1972 called the “European Cup Winners’ Cup“. The final which they won against Dynamo Moscow took place on May 24th, 1972. It was one of their greatest achievements along with winning 9 league titles in a row, winning 7 domestic trebles and 23 domestic doubles.

“OK, that’s nice. Good for them. What about GTA 5?!”

In the very first teaser trailer for GTA 5, this was seen:

On the kerb, you will see the numbers 2405. Now, they seem inconspicuous at first but if you refer back to the achievement of Rangers in 1972, it took place on the 24th day of the 5th month of that year.

OK, one example might not be good enough for you so I’ll get onto the next one.

Clue #2

In the Ballad of Gay Tony DLC for GTA 4, the end credits had an aeroplane taking off. On the tail of said aeroplane looks like this:

Now, before any North American readers attempt to pour cold water over this one, us Brits have our dates as DD/MM/YY. The numbers are there, it’s very plain to see(!).

Now, these clues have already been brought to people’s attention however, the more I thought about this one, the more plausible it became.

Clue #3

If you look back at the featured image for this article, you’ll see it’s a photo of the then-captain and greatest Ranger of all-time, John Greig. This is one of the infamous photos of him after the match with some jubilant Rangers fans, carrying the European Cup Winners’ Cup at Barcelona airport, about to get on the plane home. Also note the pictures of him arriving home at Glasgow airport. Airport…aeroplane…hmm!

Clue #4

If you google the founders of Rockstar – the Houser brothers‘ names “Sam” and “Dan Houser” you will see that if you combine Dan‘s day of birth with Sam‘s year of birth, what do you get? May 24th, 1972.

Clue #5

Now, let’s get back to the football.

It is now the year 2013, the year that GTA 5 is slated for release. It is also 41 years since that European Cup Winners’ Cup final.

41 - 4+1 = 5.

What is the name of the video game in question? Grand Theft Auto 5!

Clue #6

In 1972, Rangers were victorious in the final by 3 goals to 2.

3-2 - 3+2 = 5.

What is the name of the video game in question? Grand Theft Auto 5!

Clue #7

If you check your calendar, you’ll see that the 24th of May, 2013 lands on a Friday. Friday is the day that games are released, here in the UK.

Clue #8

The teams that contested the 1972 European Cup Winners’ Cup final were Glasgow Rangers (of Scotland) and Dynamo Moscow (of Russia).

What was the last main character of the Grand Theft Auto series? A man named Niko Bellic who is of Russian decent.

“But, why would Rockstar give a shit about some team who won some final 41 years ago?!”

You are quite right to be asking such a question, and I’d probably be doing the same. However, we are talking about Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design) which are based in Scotland’s capital city – Edinburgh. This is the company that created the Grand Theft Auto series and has been the primary developer for every title in the franchise, including GTA 5. They haven’t been shy in adding Scottish references (Rangers in particular), in previous games in the Grand Theft Auto series.

Clue #9

If we take a look back at “Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969“, there is a mission called “Mods and Sods” where part of the mission involves blowing up the Rangers’ team bus. (YouTube link to this incident).

Another example of Rockstar North including something “a bit Scottish” in GTA games is the infamous “Love Fist” band. They were featured characters in GTA: Vice City and have been referenced in virtually all GTA games since then, including 5.

It’s not just the Grand Theft Auto series where Rockstar have somehow added a bit of Scottish flavour to the occasion.

In Red Dead Redemption, (in which “Rockstar North” collaborated with primary RDR developer “Rockstar San Diego” to make) take note of the heritage of John Marston. His father was a Scottish immigrant. John Marston was also born in 1873 – the year which Rangers were originally thought to have been formed. Only in the past couple of years has evidence of the club being actually founded in 1872 appeared and has since then been ammended. Red Dead Redemption had been in development since 2005.

Also, in Red Dead Redemption, there is a random Scottish pedestrian/civillian which I have encountered a few times when I’ve been playing the game.

Now, let’s focus more on Rockstar’s history of games and to be more specific: the dates in which they have released their games in the past few years.

Red Dead Redemption – May 2010
LA Noire – May 2011.
Max Payne 3 – May 2012
Grand Theft Auto 5 – ???

(Noticing a pattern here?)

It is hard to ignore now. I have given evidence, clues and also background history into the company in question and as-to-why they would do such a thing.

Starting to believe? I will be honest, this can seem a bit “out there” in terms of a theory. It bears resemblance to 2Pac’s 7-Day Theory or the Mayan’s Apocalypse deal, however, those two theories are based on life and death – my thoery is based on only a video game…and it is Rockstar we’re talking about here.

So surely, that means it has to be plausible!…right?!