Rockstar announced the second expansion for GTA IV, subtitled "The Ballad of Gay Tony" and it promises to be "something that is both epic and very innovative" to the GTA IV world.

It's not surprising that Rockstar can once again surprise us with one of their games, and this one starts with the title. GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony is the second expansion to the GTA IV universe, after last February's The Lost and Damned and will follow a brand new story that focuses more on the corruption of the high-end night life.

From the Press Release:

"Liberty City is the most vibrant game world we've created yet. The episodic structure has allowed us to interweave stories, gameplay and atmosphere in a whole new way," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "The team at Rockstar North have yet again surpassed themselves, and made something that is both epic and very innovative. This episode's focus on high-end night life contrasts with the biker gangs portrayed in The Lost and Damned, whilst giving us a lot of new gameplay possibilities.

Grand Theft Auto IV's second downloadable episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price." - Rockstar Games

Rockstar plans to release the second episode later this fall on Xbox LIVE for $19.99 or 1600 MS points, which will require players to have GTA IV for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live membership to download. However, Rockstar is also releasing a compilation entitled, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which will include both expansion episodes together on a single disc exclusively for Xbox 360 and will not require a copy of the original GTA IV to play. The compilation is set to go for US$39.99.

By Sean Mirkovich