Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest in the very popular series, is set to be released in the fall but Take-Two Interactive Software is already set to gain money from it. In a special deal with Microsoft the gaming company will receive $50 million in order to create 2 special downloadable episodes that will be exclusive for Microsoft’s Xbox 360. In October the game will be available for both the Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 consoles. Microsoft hopes to gain even bigger popularity in the consoles war thanks to these two episodes and Sony is continuing to fall.Take-Two Interactive Software declared that the money will come in two shipments, one for each episode. The stated release dates for these add-ons are starting from March 2008 and the reason behind the deal has to come in connection with the company’s financial struggle that ended with a shareholder revolt that saw Strauss Zelnick as the new chairman. Microsoft did not comment on the decision to offer the deal and only said in a statement that:

“The quality, depth and breadth of our Xbox 360 portfolio is a testament to the great relationships we’ve established over the years with our third-party partners.”

Game company analyst Evan Wilson commented on the deal by saying:

“Microsoft, smartly, has been working to multiply exclusive content for the 360 and eliminate exclusive content for the PS3. Exclusive episodic content for Grand Theft Auto is another win for Microsoft and because of the $50 million dollar payment, a win for Take-Two as well.”