Only Rockstar could get millions hyped to play a game featuring a dude who looks like this.

Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto V finally has an official release date, and it's not quite what we were expecting.

After months of touting a nebulous "spring" release period, which seemed to all but confirm a date in the publisher's now traditional release month of May, Rockstar today announced that GTA V will instead be hitting retail shelves on September 17.

In a commiserative post on its official website, Rockstar officials chalked the new release date up to additional development required on the game.

Dear all,

Today, we have an official release date to share with you: Grand Theft Auto V will arrive in stores on September 17, 2013.

We know this is about four months later than originally planned and we know that this short delay will come as a disappointment to many of you, but, trust us, it will be worth the extra time. GTAV is a massively ambitious and complex game and it simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require.

To all Grand Theft Auto fans, please accept our apologies for the delay, and our promise that the entire team here is working very hard to make the game all it can be. We are doing all we can to help ensure it will meet if not exceed your expectations come September – we thank you for your support and patience.

Yours,
The GTA Team

So, hey, we're not getting a May release, but we have an official, locked-in date (which could still slip at some point, but also shut up.) No new trailers or screenshots were released to sate the unwashed masses of the Internet, so you'll just have to settle for the media we already have posted. Sorry about that.