Oh well, we knew it was a bit of a stretch. Rockstar North have killed off talk of a brand new GTA arriving this year. Speaking to plucky little weblob Kotaku, Rockstar have said categorically that there is “no truth” to the rumors.

Blame Game Informer. The latest issue’s ‘Loose Talk’ section carried the scurrilous rumor that the follow up to GTA IV, possibly set in Tokyo, was already in the works and would be appearing under our Christmas trees this holiday season. Gutted. It’s not all bad news though. The first episodic downloadable content for GTA IV, entitled The Lost and Damned, is still due to arrive on the Xbox 360 next month with a second episode slated for an Oct. 31 release.

According to Kotaku, Rockstar’s VP of product development, Jeronimo Barrera, has called the episodes an “experiment” that, if successful, could lead to even more, effectively putting any planned sequels on the backburner. Shame, it was fun while it lasted right?