Rumour: Microsoft Pays $50m For GTA IV Exclusive Content

Microsoft has paid a cool $50 million for its exclusive GTA IV content, according to a transcript from a Take 2 conference call.

When discussing revenue streams with analysts, Take 2's Chief Financial Officer, Lainie Goldstein, said, “The first 25 [million dollars] is for the first episodic content package that’s supposed to go out and that is in March of ’08. That’s why it moved into current because it’s in the next 12 months. The second 25 [million dollars] will be for the second episodic, the episode, and that will be later in fiscal ’08.”

SPOnG contacted Microsoft for confirmation of the sum but was told by a representative, “We don't comment on rumour and speculation.” The information does, however, have a distinct whiff of legitimacy about it. The transcript comes from SeekingAlpha, a company that deals with stock market analysis.

There's also been something of a furore around comments from a Take 2 representative to the tune of "The Grand Theft Auto IV episodic content is exclusive to Xbox 360." This should come as little surprise, however, given that the fact the 360 will have exclusive episodic content was revealed way back in April.

SPOnG contacted Rockstar to see if the rep's comments can be taken to mean that the content will be a complete exclusive, rather than a timed one with the content hitting the PS3 at a later date, but no comment was available at the time of press.

The representative also said of L.A. Noire, Rockstar's upcoming vintage thriller, "L.A. Noire is being developed for next-generation systems," contradicting the expectation that the game will be a PS3 exclusive.

The $50 million will no doubt be a welcome addition to Take 2's coffers, given that last week it was revealed that Take 2 employees are facing job losses following Take 2's announcement of a $52.2 million net loss last Monday.

For more on GTA IV take a look at SPOnG's dedicated game page.