Ahead of the usual Thursday PSN update, Rockstar have just released Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars onto the US Store. Developed by the award-winning studio Rockstar Leeds in conjunction with Rockstar North, this latest GTA title is the “highest-rated, critically acclaimed portable title of this generation” and will be available today on UMD too in the States. The game will also be released in Europe for both formats on October 23, 2009.

“Chinatown Wars represents our desire to continue innovating and delivering an unparalleled level of entertainment for portable games,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “The team at Rockstar Leeds has taken one of their most acclaimed titles of all time and built upon that experience in a way that could only be done on the PSP system.”

In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, protagonist Huang Lee arrives in Liberty City to navigate through a gang and drug-infested criminal underworld in search of the man who murdered his father. Featuring additional missions, music, and graphical enhancements that support this bold and unique stylistic departure for the series on PSP system, players will experience a newly optimized control setup that never takes them out of the action.