Fans of all-out carnage will have a bit more of a wait on their hands than we'd hoped, since the launch of Grand Theft Auto 5 is seeming like less an less of a reality by the day. Rockstar Games has gone completely dark since launching the announcement trailer, and even the slightest of implications that GTA 5 would be featured at Gamescom in Germany next month has now been shot down.

The only word on the game at all was a brief glimpse of the game in the official trailer for Gamescom 2012's line-up, and the mention of GTA 5 on the LinkedIn profile of one of the Cologne, Germany event's organizers. The employee profile in question also included a surprise showing from Valve, but both rumors have now been shot down by those behind the event, claiming to have no knowledge of the employee in question.

According to Eurogamer, the event's organizer's are refuting any connections and claiming it all to stem from a large misunderstanding. None of the comments address the inclusion of Grand Theft Auto 5 gameplay footage within the show's sizzle reel, so it would seem that the appearance was, as we had expected might be the case, a slip-up by whoever was trusted with assembling the video.

If this response is a confirmation of a GTA 5 no-show, and not just the event staff escaping blame for letting the cat out of the bag, then the future of the game must be seen as even less certain than previously presumed. Gaming industry analysts have projected that a 2012 release of GTA 5 wouldn't do much to help the annual sales numbers, but if August comes and goes without details or footage, that might not be a concern at all.

It's obvious that the fifth installment of the Grand Theft Auto series is sure to set a new sales record whenever it's released. But at this point it's hard to ignore the fact that Rockstar showed that announcement trailer a little too soon. Reports have circled ever since of multiple studios under the Take-Two Interactive umbrella being called on to help, which could be a sign of serious trouble internally. An official comment will be needed to put this delay into context, with optimism hard to come by until then.

There is still an outside chance that Rockstar could surprise everyone - sort of - and actually show something off at Gamescom come August, but either way the show will be worth watching for putting StarCraft 2: The Heart of the Swarm into the hands of fans.

Whenever Rockstar provides an update on the current state of Grand Theft Auto 5, we'll let you know.

-

Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.

Source: Eurogamer