Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, and the fifteenth instalment overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three protagonists—retired bank robber Michael De Santa, street gangster Franklin Clinton, and drug dealer and gunrunner Trevor Philips—and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam San Andreas open countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.

The game is played from either a third-person or first-person perspective, and its world is navigated on foot and by vehicle. Players control the three lead protagonists throughout single-player and switch among them, both during and outside missions. The story is centred on the heist sequences, and many missions involve shooting and driving gameplay. A "wanted" system governs the aggression of law enforcement response to players who commit crimes. Grand Theft Auto Online, the game's online multiplayer mode, lets up to 30 players engage in a variety of different cooperative and competitive game modes.

The game's development began around the time of Grand Theft Auto IV's release and was shared between many of Rockstar's studios worldwide. The development team drew influence from many of their previous projects such as Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 and designed the game around three lead protagonists to innovate on the core structure of its predecessors. Much of the development work constituted the open world's creation, and several team members conducted field research around California to capture footage for the design team. The game's soundtrack features an original score composed by a team of producers who collaborated over several years. It was released in September 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in November 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and April 2015 for Microsoft Windows. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions are scheduled for release in March 2022.

Extensively marketed and widely anticipated, the game broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning $800 million in its first day and $1 billion in its first three days. It received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its multiple protagonist design, open world, presentation and gameplay. However, it caused controversies related to its depiction of violence and women. Considered one of seventh and eighth generation console gaming's most significant titles and among the best video games ever made, it won year-end accolades including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. It is the second best-selling video game of all time with over 155 million copies shipped, and as of April 2018, one of the most financially successful entertainment products of all time, with about $6 billion in worldwide revenue.

Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure game played from either a third-person or first-person perspective. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. Outside of the missions, players may freely roam the open world. Composed of the San Andreas open countryside area, including the fictional Blaine County, and the fictional city of Los Santos, the world is much larger in area than earlier entries in the series. It may be fully explored after the game's beginning without restriction, although story progress unlocks more gameplay content.

Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, and may run, jump, swim or use vehicles to navigate the world. To accommodate the map's size, the game introduces vehicle types absent in its predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV, such as fixed-wing aircraft. In combat, auto-aim and a cover system may be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter will gradually regenerate to its halfway point. Players respawn at hospitals when their health depletes. If players commit crimes, law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a "wanted" meter in the head-up display (HUD). Stars displayed on the meter indicate the current wanted level (for example, at the maximum five-star level, police helicopters and SWAT teams swarm to lethally dispatch players). Law enforcement officers will search for players who leave the wanted vicinity. The meter enters a cool-down mode and eventually recedes when players are hidden from the officers' line of sight that displays on the mini-map for a period of time.

The single-player mode lets players control three characters: Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips and Franklin Clinton—criminals whose stories interconnect as they complete missions. Some missions are completed with only one character and others feature two or three. Outside the missions, players may switch between characters at will by a directional compass on the HUD, although this feature becomes restricted at various points throughout the story. The game may switch characters automatically during missions to complete specific objectives. A character's compass avatar will flash red if he is in danger and needs help, and flash white if he has a strategic advantage. Though players complete missions as any of the three protagonists, the more difficult heist missions require aid from AI-controlled accomplices with unique skill sets like computer hacking and driving. If an accomplice survives a successful heist, they take a cut from the cash reward and may be available for later missions with improvements to their unique skills. Some heists afford multiple strategies; in a holdup mission, players may either stealthily subdue civilians with an incapacitating agent or conspicuously storm the venue with guns drawn.

Each character has a set of eight skills that represent their ability in specific areas such as shooting and driving. Though skills improve through play, each character has a skill with expertise by default (e.g. Trevor's flying skill). The eighth "special" skill determines the effectiveness in performing an ability that is unique to each respective character. Michael enters bullet time in combat, Franklin slows down time while driving, and Trevor deals twice as much damage to enemies while taking half as much in combat. A meter on each character's HUD depletes when an ability is being used and regenerates when players perform skilful actions (for example, drifting in vehicles as Franklin or performing headshots as Michael).

While free-roaming the game world, players may engage in context-specific activities such as scuba diving and BASE jumping. Each character has a smartphone for contacting friends, starting activities and accessing an in-game Internet. The Internet lets players trade in stocks via a stock market. Players may purchase properties such as garages and businesses, upgrade the weapons and vehicles in each character's arsenal. Players may also visit places such as cinemas and strip clubs. Players can also customise their appearance by purchasing outfits, haircuts and tattoos.

In 2004, Michael Townley, Trevor Philips, and Brad Snider partake in a failed robbery in Ludendorff, North Yankton, resulting in the first being presumed dead. Nine years later, Michael lives with his family in the city of Los Santos under the alias Michael De Santa, having made a secret agreement with the Federal Investigation Bureau (FIB) agent Dave Norton to stay hidden. Across town, gangster Franklin Clinton is working for a corrupt car salesman and meets Michael while attempting to fraudulently repossess his son's car. The two later become friends. When Michael finds his wife sleeping with her tennis coach, he and Franklin chase the coach to a mansion, which Michael destroys in anger. The owner of the mansion, drug lord Martin Madrazo, demands compensation. Michael returns to a life of crime to obtain the money, enlisting Franklin as an accomplice. With the help of Michael's old friend Lester Crest, a disabled hacker, they rob a jewellery store to pay off the debt. Meanwhile, Trevor, who lives in squalor on the outskirts of Los Santos, hears of the heist and realises it was Michael's work; Trevor had believed Michael was killed in the Ludendorff heist. Trevor finds Michael and reunites with him, forcing Michael to reluctantly accept him back into his life.

As time goes on, the lives of the protagonists spiral out of control. Michael's criminal behaviour prompts his family to leave him. When he later becomes a movie producer, he comes into conflict with Devin Weston, a billionaire venture capitalist and corporate raider, who attempts to shut down Michael's studio. Michael thwarts his efforts and inadvertently kills his assistant, causing Devin to vow revenge. Meanwhile, Franklin must rescue his friend Lamar Davis from his former friend and rival gangster Harold "Stretch" Joseph, who attempts to kill them to prove himself to his new gang. Concurrently, Trevor attempts to consolidate his control over various black markets in Blaine County, waging war against The Lost outlaw motorcycle club, Latin American street gangs, rival meth dealers, private security firm Merryweather, and triad kingpin Wei Cheng.

Having broken his agreement with Dave by committing heists again, Michael is coerced by Dave and his superior, Steve Haines, to perform a series of operations alongside Franklin and Trevor to undermine the International Affairs Agency (IAA). Under Steve's direction and with Lester's help, they attack a convoy carrying funds for the IAA and steal an experimental chemical weapon from an IAA lab. As Steve comes under increasing scrutiny, he forces Michael and Franklin to erase evidence against him from the FIB servers. Michael takes the opportunity to wipe the data on his activities, destroying Steve's leverage over him.

After reconciling with his family, Michael starts planning his final heist with Trevor, Franklin, and Lester: raiding the Union Depository's gold bullion reserve. However, Trevor discovers that Brad was not imprisoned as he was led to believe, but killed during the Ludendorff heist and buried in the grave marked for Michael. Deducing that he was supposed to be killed in Brad's place, Trevor feels betrayed, causing friction within the group and threatening to undermine their plans. Meanwhile, Steve betrays Michael and Dave, and they become caught in a Mexican standoff between the FIB, the IAA, and Merryweather. Trevor aids Michael and Dave, feeling only he has the right to kill Michael, agreeing to perform the Union Depository heist with the latter and part ways afterward.

The heist is successful, but Franklin is afterwards approached by Steve and Dave, who contend that Trevor is a liability, and Devin, who seeks revenge on Michael. Franklin has three choices: kill Trevor, kill Michael, or attempt to save both in a suicide mission. Should Franklin choose to kill either Michael or Trevor, he ceases contact with the man he spares and returns to his old life. Otherwise, Michael and Trevor reconcile and the trio, aided by Lamar and Lester, withstands an onslaught from the FIB and Merryweather before going on to kill Cheng, Stretch, Steve, and Devin. The three protagonists cease working together but remain friends.

Rockstar North began to develop Grand Theft Auto V in 2008, around Grand Theft Auto IV's release. Development was conducted by a team of more than 1,000 people, including Rockstar North's core team and staff from parent company Rockstar Games' studios around the world. The proprietary Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) was overhauled for the game to improve its draw distance rendering capabilities. The Euphoria and Bullet software handle additional animation and rendering tasks. Having become familiar with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hardware over time, Rockstar found they were able to push the consoles' graphical capabilities further than in previous games. Analyst estimations place the game's combined development and marketing budget at more than GB£170 million (US$265 million), which would make it the most expensive game ever made at that time.

The open world was modelled on Southern California and Los Angeles, and its design and in-game render constituted much of the game's early work. Key members of the game world production team took field research trips throughout the region and documented their research with photo and video footage. Google Maps projections of Los Angeles were used by the team to help design Los Santos' road networks. To reflect and reproduce Los Angeles' demographic spread, the developers studied census data and watched documentaries about the city. The team considered creating the open world the most technically demanding aspect of the game's production.

A fundamental design goal from the outset was to innovate on the series core structure by giving players control of three lead protagonists instead of one. The idea was first raised during Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' development, but contemporaneous hardware restrictions made it infeasible. Having developed two Grand Theft Auto IV episodic expansion packs featuring new protagonists in 2009, the team wanted to base Grand Theft Auto V around three simultaneously controlled protagonists. The team viewed it as a spiritual successor to many of their previous games (such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3), and designed it to improve upon their gameplay mechanics. They sought to improve the action gameplay by refining the shooting mechanics and cover system and reworked the driving mechanics to correct Grand Theft Auto IV's awkward vehicle controls.

After an audition process, Ned Luke, Shawn Fonteno and Steven Ogg were selected to portray Michael, Franklin and Trevor, respectively. Their performances were mostly recorded using motion capture technology, but dialogue for scenes with characters seated in vehicles was recorded in studios instead. The game features an original score composed by a team of producers collaborating over several years. Licensed music provided by an in-game radio is also used. The team licensed more than 241 tracks shared between fifteen radio stations, with an additional two stations providing talk radio. Some of the tracks were written specifically for the game, such as rapper and producer Flying Lotus' original work composed for the FlyLo FM radio station he hosts.

The city of Los Santos being rendered on the PlayStation 4 on the left, and the PlayStation 3 on the right. Improved texture effects, lighting and draw distances are visible on the PS4 version.

A comparison of the PlayStation 4 (left) and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. The enhanced re-release features greater draw distances and higher-resolution textures than the original versions.

The game was first announced by Rockstar Games on 25 October 2011. They released its debut trailer one week later, with an official press release acknowledging its setting. Journalists noted that the announcement ignited widespread anticipation within the gaming industry, which they owed to the cultural significance of the series. The game missed its original projected Q2 2013 release date, pushed back to 17 September to allow for further polishing. To spur pre-order game sales, Rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets to make a special edition with extra in-game features. They ran a viral marketing strategy with a website for a fictional religious cult, "The Epsilon Program", that offered users the chance to feature in the game as members of the cult.

A re-release of the game was announced for Microsoft Windows (PC), PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at E3 2014. This enhanced version features an increased draw distance, finer texture details, denser traffic, upgraded weather effects, and new wildlife and vegetation. It includes a new on-foot first-person view option, which required the development team to overhaul the animation system to accommodate first-person gameplay. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released on 18 November 2014. The PC version, initially scheduled for simultaneous release with the console versions, was delayed until 14 April 2015. According to Rockstar, it required extra development time for "polish". The PC version is capable of 60 frames per second gameplay at 4K resolution, and the Rockstar Editor lets players capture and edit gameplay videos. Plans to develop single-player downloadable content were later scrapped as the team focused resources on Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Redemption 2. A new version, commonly referred to as "Expanded & Enhanced", was announced in June 2020. Set for release in March 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, it will feature technical enhancements and performance updates. A trailer released for the new version in September 2021 was met with negativity, becoming one of the most-disliked videos on PlayStation's YouTube channel; journalists noted that fans were frustrated by Rockstar's continued focus on the game instead of other projects such as a new Grand Theft Auto game, as well as the lack of apparent new features demonstrated in the trailer.

Grand Theft Auto V received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic, based on 50 reviews for the PlayStation 3 version and 58 reviews for the Xbox 360 version. The game is Metacritic's sixth-highest rated, tied with several others. Reviewers liked the multiple lead character formula, heist mission design and presentation, but some did not agree on the quality of the story and characters. IGN's Keza MacDonald called Grand Theft Auto V "one of the very best video games ever made", and Play considered it "generation-defining" and "exceptional". Edge wrote that it is a "remarkable achievement" in open-world design and storytelling, while The Daily Telegraph's Tom Hoggins declared it a "colossal feat of technical engineering". It became the second-ever western developed game to be awarded a perfect score from the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu.

Within 24 hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto V generated more than US$815 million in worldwide revenue, equating to approximately 11.21 million copies sold for Take-Two Interactive. The numbers nearly doubled analysts' expectations for the title. Three days after its release, the game had surpassed one billion dollars in sales, making it the fastest-selling entertainment product in history.Six weeks after its release, Rockstar had shipped nearly 29 million copies of the game to retailers, exceeding the lifetime figures of Grand Theft Auto IV. On 7 October 2013, the game became the best-selling digital release on PlayStation Store for PlayStation 3, breaking the previous record set by The Last of Us, though numerical sales figures were not disclosed. It broke seven Guinness World Records on 8 October: best-selling video game in 24 hours, best-selling action-adventure video game in 24 hours, highest-grossing video game in 24 hours, fastest entertainment property to gross US$1 billion, fastest video game to gross US$1 billion, highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours, and most viewed trailer for an action-adventure video game. A digital version was released on 18 October for the Xbox 360, which went on to become the highest-grossing day-one and week-one release on Xbox Live. By May 2014, the game had generated nearly US$1.98 billion in revenue. As of August 2014, the game has sold-in over 34 million units to retailers for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. By December 2014, the game had shipped 45 million copies, including 10 million copies of the re-released version. By April 2018, the game had generated about $6 billion and was estimated by MarketWatch to be the most profitable entertainment product of all time. As of September 2021, the game has shipped over 155 million copies worldwide across all platforms; more copies were sold in 2020 than any other year since the game's launch in 2013.

In the United Kingdom, the game became the all-time fastest-selling game, selling more than 2.25 million copies in five days. This broke the record set by Call of Duty: Black Ops at two million copies over the same period. It broke the day one record by selling 1.57 million copies and generating £65 million. In two weeks, the game sold more than 2.6 million copies and generated £90 million, which accounted for 52% of games sold in September 2013. After three weeks on sale, it beat Grand Theft Auto IV's lifetime sales in the United Kingdom. In its fourth week, it became the fastest-selling title to break the three million barrier in the UK, thus overtaking Black Ops II's lifetime sales. In November 2014, the game became the best-selling game of all time in the UK, overtaking Black Ops. The game was similarly successful in North America: it was the best selling game in September, representing over 50% of software sales and boosting overall software sales by 52% compared to September 2012.

Critics agreed that Grand Theft Auto V was among seventh-generation console gaming's best and a great closing title before the eighth generation's emergence. Polygon's Plante observed that the game would "bridge between games' present and the future", and declared it "the closure of this generation, and the benchmark for the next". VideoGamer.com's Simon Miller considered it "the ultimate swansong for this console cycle" that would "cast a long shadow over the next". Three days after its release, the game ranked second on IGN's "Top 25 Xbox 360 Games" list. Editor Ryan McCaffrey considered that the open world's scale and detail succeeded the majority of other Xbox 360 games. He called the game "a triumph both for gamers and for the medium itself, and it deserves its runaway success". In November 2013, Hardcore Gamer placed the game third on their "Top 100 Games of the Generation" list. They cited its improved shooting and driving mechanics over its predecessors, and considered the multiple protagonist design "a welcome change of pace" that could become an eighth-generation gaming benchmark. In December, The Daily Telegraph listed the game among their "50 best games of the console generation". They called it a "cultural behemoth" that "will be Rockstar's lasting legacy".

In January 2014, Computer and Video Games ranked the game fourth on their "Games of the Generation" list. Editor Rob Crossley said that for the first time, Rockstar created an "utterly beautiful" open world. He found that the game did away with Grand Theft Auto IV's repetitive mission design and focused instead on fun gameplay. In May, IGN ranked it eighth on their "Top 100 Games of a Generation" list and called it a "huge, raucous, and wildly ambitious bridge towards the [eighth] generation of console gaming". The next month, it placed third on IGN's "Games of a Generation: Your Top 100" list as voted by the site's readers. In August, Game Informer ranked it third on their "Top 10 Action Games Of The Generation" list. They compared the game's quality to that of its predecessor but thought that its ensemble character set-up, varied missions and multiplayer superseded Grand Theft Auto IV's placement on the list. They wrote of the story's absurd drama and the open world's vastness, and did not "regret a single second" spent playing the game. In November, Edge named it the fifth-best game of its generation and commented that "no other game studio is even daring to attempt an open world game in its tradition because there is simply no possibility of measuring up to [its] standards." In 2015, the publication rated it the second greatest video game of all time. The game ranked high on several best game lists determined by the public; it featured eighth on Empire's "100 Greatest Video Games Of All Time" list, and fifth on Good Game's "Top 100 Games" list, as voted by the magazine and programme's respective audiences. It was the most tweeted game of 2015, despite being released over a year earlier.