In just a few short weeks, the most anticipated game of this generation - thus far at least - will be released. We talk of course of GTA IV. Through a long and extensive promotional campaign, which has included tactical trailer strikes and carefully orchestrated media coverage, almost every piece of the GTA puzzle has been made available to the hungry consumer. However, two big pieces remain unknown: multiplayer, and that US$50 million dollar�s worth of DLC.

We�ll have more for you on the multiplayer soon � very, very soon � but while the exact details of the content in the DLC remain a mystery, we can now predict a release date. This is thanks to THQ, who have now confirmed that Saints Row 2 will be released on August 26.
Rockstar�s contempt for Volition�s GTA imitation is second-to-none, but the developer cannot ignore Saints Row 2. It is, till April 29 anyway, the premier open-world action game on next-gen consoles, and it gained itself a healthy little following during the Xbox 360�s infancy. Indeed, the release of Saints Row 2 threatens to tear a chunk out of GTA IV�s community, regardless of how the two games compare in quality.
So what better way for Rockstar to undermine the lingering popularity of Saints Row 2 than to release the first slice of downloadable content at or around the game�s launch date?
This is, of course, just speculation, but Rockstar had confirmed already that the first episode would not be released until August. It would make sound business sense then, at least in maintaining an active online community during this period, for Rockstar to destabilise Saints Row 2�s launch with a 10hr gameplay splash of GTA IV goodness.
So our bet, GTA IV�s first DLC episode will release around August 20-22, four months after the game�s launch. Which would leave the second DLC episode nicely placed for a release four months after that� which is Christmas.