GTA: Ballad Of Gay Tony To Debut On XBL Oct. 29th

The next Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable episode will hit Xbox Live on October 29th, Rockstar confirms. The Ballad of Gay Tony will also be included on a retail disc along with the first DLC episode, Lost & Damned. The disc, Episodes From Liberty City, also launches on the 29th. It won't require the original GTA IV disc to play -- although the downloadable version does -- and it will retail for $39.99. The Ballad of Gay Tony puts players in the shoes of Luis Lopez, "part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony")," Take-Two has explained. It revolves around the nightclub life, as opposed to the biker gangs of Lost & Damned. The downloadable version will be available on Xbox Live for 1600 Microsoft points, or $19.99. When first announcing the new content, Take-Two president Ben Feder noted: "We're quite pleased with the download performance on the first episode." However, he added: "We've also seen opportunities -- and demand -- at retail. Both channels are important to us... while we're pleased with the download, we saw an opportunity to take advantage of retail as well."