Microsoft Beefs Up Digital Distribution Offerings With GTA IV

Microsoft said Friday that is further ramping up its digital distribution efforts with the release of more high-profile, retail-sized digital games on Xbox Live Games On Demand in October. Most notably, April 2008's blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV is coming to the service, which is currently only available in download form for PC. Xbox Live is already the exclusive home to the GTA IV add-on The Lost and the Damned and the upcoming The Ballad of Gay Tony. GTA IV will be available to download from Games On Demand on October 13. Also coming to the service on October 20 are Rockstar's racer Midnight Club Los Angeles, Electronic Arts' co-op action game Army of Two, and Sega's Sonic Unleashed. On October 27, EA's sci-fi horror game Dead Space is slated to arrive, alongside Codemasters' rally cross title Dirt. Activision's Call of Duty 3 and Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 arrived on October 6, for $29.99 each. Microsoft did not reveal U.S. prices for upcoming Games On Demand titles, although they should range between $19.99 and $29.99. The most recent release in the October lineup is Sonic Unleashed, which launched in North America on November 18 last year. Microsoft has said that it doesn't see same-day retail/Games On demand releases any time in the near future. For now, the service sweeps up digital distribution customers who may have missed certain games when they originally released, or those who want to revisit older titles. Xbox Live Games On Demand launched earlier this year with games including Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, and Oblivion, among others.