Grand Theft Auto V
Encyclopedia
Grand Theft Auto V is an upcoming open world
action-adventure
video game being developed by British games developer Rockstar North
and published by Rockstar Games
. The game will be the first major title in the Grand Theft Auto series
since Grand Theft Auto IV
(2008), which started the fourth "era" in the series, and the fifteenth game overall. The game is to be set in fictional Los Santos in the state of San Andreas
and its surrounding areas, based on modern-day Los Angeles
and Southern California
. A rendition of Los Santos was previously featured as one of three cities in 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
, from the series' third era. The debut trailer for Grand Theft Auto V was unveiled on 2 November 2011.
CEO Strauss Zelnick answered a listener's question about the next Grand Theft Auto. He replied, "We're not going to announce it, we're not going to announce when we are going to announce it, and we are not going to announce a strategy about announcing it or about when we are going to announce it either, or about the announcement strategy surrounding the announcement of the strategy."
In a November 2009 interview with The Times
, Grand Theft Auto
producer Dan Houser
discussed his work, including the future of the series. Confirming for the first time that the team has started thinking about Grand Theft Auto V, the piece stated that Houser planned to co-write a script that reached about one thousand pages in length. In the same interview, Houser explained the company's basic workflow of creating new games in the series, which involves coming up with the city first, and then the lead character later.
In July 2010, Rockstar North posted seven job ads related to a new title. The firm looked to fill positions including Environment Artists, Physics Programmers and Character Animators. The job ad for the latter asking for those with "professional experience developing a third person action game". It was unknown if Rockstar was hiring for GTA V, or the firm was bulking up its Agent
team.
In December 2010, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said that the company "won't annualise" its biggest franchises like Grand Theft Auto
, Max Payne
and Red Dead. He told Reuters
that doing so would threaten their quality and risk burning out consumers.
In February and March 2011, there were several possible minor leaks of supposed GTA production, including domain name registrations
, and casting calls
featuring previous GTA characters. The first signs of the game went online in February 2011, via an actor's CV, which was followed by the discovery of Rockstar-registered GTA style URLs. In March a number of casting calls for voice acting in a project codenamed Rush were leaked onto the internet. Considering one role included James Pedeaston, a radio personality in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
, the project was presumed to concern Rockstar.
In June 2011, sources allegedly close to the developer said the title is "well under way", with final touches like mini-games already being applied, and a 2012 release "pretty likely". "It's the big one," they also said of the game, noting that GTA Vs scale is vast.
In a July 2011 interview with PSM3
, Team Bondi
co-founder Brendan McNamara was asked if Rockstar (who published Bondi's 2011 L.A. Noire
) was considering the proprietary MotionScan
face-scanning technology for the next GTA game. McNamara replied, "Yeah, I think they're looking at it for every game. As much as L.A. Noire
is a huge game, Grand Theft Auto is incredibly huge, so you've got all the problems of how big the cast would be and how many lines would you have to record and all that kind of stuff. Obviously we'd like them to, and they're more than welcome to use MotionScan, but if they decide it's not right for that and want to use it for another game, then that's fine too."
account, which included the #GTAV hash tag and a link to their homepage, which displayed the game's logo. The 'V' in the logo is styled like a bank note. A message was printed below the logo stating that a trailer would be released on 2 November 2011. On 26 October 2011, Rockstar put a Grand Theft Auto V trailer countdown on their homepage. Shares of Take-Two Interactive
, the parent company of Rockstar Games
, jumped seven percent following the revelation that Grand Theft Auto V is in development.
On 26 October, video game website Kotaku
claimed that it had been told that rumours about Rockstar being set to make a switch to reality by recreating real-world Los Angeles for GTA V "are true" by "a source familiar with the game". Kotaku said that GTA V will be set in "some version of L.A."
On 2 November, Rockstar released the debut trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. Giving fans a first look at the upcoming title, the trailer revealed the setting to be Los Santos, the fictional version of Los Angeles
and its California
surroundings, including Hollywood ("Vinewood") and rural hills and valleys. Additional features revealed in the trailer included golf, planes, jetskis, and a working gym. The song used in the trailer is "Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
" by the British band The Small Faces
.
On 3 November, Rockstar Games announced that Grand Theft Auto V was in full development and that it would take place within Los Santos and its "surrounding hills, countryside and beaches", and that it would be "the largest and the most ambitious game Rockstar has yet created", with Sam Houser
describing it as a "radical reinvention of the Grand Theft Auto universe". A version of Los Santos was previously featured in 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
, along with two other cities that were part of that rendition of the state of San Andreas (Las Venturas and San Fierro, based on Las Vegas and San Francisco, respectively). Rockstar parent Take-Two called GTA V "a bold new direction in open-world freedom, storytelling, mission-based gameplay and online multiplayer," while confirming that its story will focus on "the pursuit of the almighty dollar
in a re-imagined, present-day Southern California
." No release date or platforms were provided in the announcement.
On 8 November, Take-Two's second quarter financial earnings report included an update on future product launch dates, with the newest game to be added to the list was the GTA V, which carried a "TBA" release. Little official news had been said about the game since its announcement trailer, but Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick did have this to say that "Looking ahead, Take-Two has the strongest development pipeline in the company's history. At the cornerstone of our stellar line-up is the recently announced next instalment of Rockstar Games' iconic franchise that has sold-in more than 114 million units - Grand Theft Auto V. The creative team at Rockstar Games continues to set benchmarks for excellence with every new release and we're confident that consumers' enthusiasm will be rewarded with a breathtaking entertainment experience that can only be provided by Grand Theft Auto."
's head of games Tim Ellis said the announcement of GTA V will bring a new boost to the market. Ellis told MCV a new GTA launch is "a fantastic development that would inject huge excitement into the games market for fans, retailers and media alike," adding Rockstar would "face the challenge of delivering another brilliant game that’s as good if not better than anything we’ve seen before."
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game being developed by British games developer Rockstar North
Rockstar North
Rockstar North is a British video game developer based in Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for creating the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings franchises in its earlier guise as DMA....
and published by Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
. The game will be the first major title in the Grand Theft Auto series
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
since Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
(2008), which started the fourth "era" in the series, and the fifteenth game overall. The game is to be set in fictional Los Santos in the state of San Andreas
San Andreas
San Andreas is an archaic variation of the Spanish language San Andrés . It may refer to:*San Andreas Fault, a geologic fault that runs through California, USA...
and its surrounding areas, based on modern-day Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. A rendition of Los Santos was previously featured as one of three cities in 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
, from the series' third era. The debut trailer for Grand Theft Auto V was unveiled on 2 November 2011.
Development
In September 2009 during an earnings call, Take-Two InteractiveTake-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a major American publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Take-Two wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. The company's headquarters are in New York City, with international headquarters in Windsor, United Kingdom...
CEO Strauss Zelnick answered a listener's question about the next Grand Theft Auto. He replied, "We're not going to announce it, we're not going to announce when we are going to announce it, and we are not going to announce a strategy about announcing it or about when we are going to announce it either, or about the announcement strategy surrounding the announcement of the strategy."
In a November 2009 interview with The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
producer Dan Houser
Dan Houser
Dan Houser is an English video game producer and vice president of creativity for Rockstar Games...
discussed his work, including the future of the series. Confirming for the first time that the team has started thinking about Grand Theft Auto V, the piece stated that Houser planned to co-write a script that reached about one thousand pages in length. In the same interview, Houser explained the company's basic workflow of creating new games in the series, which involves coming up with the city first, and then the lead character later.
In July 2010, Rockstar North posted seven job ads related to a new title. The firm looked to fill positions including Environment Artists, Physics Programmers and Character Animators. The job ad for the latter asking for those with "professional experience developing a third person action game". It was unknown if Rockstar was hiring for GTA V, or the firm was bulking up its Agent
Agent (video game)
Agent is a video game currently in development by Rockstar North for the PlayStation 3. Sony announced that Rockstar was working on a new franchise for the PlayStation 3 in July 2007, but details of the project, including its title, were not announced until June 2009 during the Sony press...
team.
In December 2010, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said that the company "won't annualise" its biggest franchises like Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
, Max Payne
Max Payne
Max Payne is a BAFTA Award–winning third-person shooter video game developed by Finnish developers Remedy Entertainment and published by Gathering of Developers in July 2001 for Microsoft Windows. Ports created later in the year for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and the GameBoy Advance were published by...
and Red Dead. He told Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
that doing so would threaten their quality and risk burning out consumers.
In February and March 2011, there were several possible minor leaks of supposed GTA production, including domain name registrations
Domain name registry
A domain name registry is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a network information center , is the part of the Domain Name System of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert...
, and casting calls
Casting (performing arts)
In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...
featuring previous GTA characters. The first signs of the game went online in February 2011, via an actor's CV, which was followed by the discovery of Rockstar-registered GTA style URLs. In March a number of casting calls for voice acting in a project codenamed Rush were leaked onto the internet. Considering one role included James Pedeaston, a radio personality in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
, the project was presumed to concern Rockstar.
In June 2011, sources allegedly close to the developer said the title is "well under way", with final touches like mini-games already being applied, and a 2012 release "pretty likely". "It's the big one," they also said of the game, noting that GTA Vs scale is vast.
In a July 2011 interview with PSM3
PSM3
PSM3 is a video game magazine specialising in all Sony video game consoles and handheld gaming platforms. PSM3 is published by Future Publishing, a UK-based publishing company....
, Team Bondi
Team Bondi
Team Bondi was an Australian independent third-party game developer. The company was founded by Brendan McNamara, who was the former Director of Development for Sony Computer Entertainment’s Team Soho Studio in London and writer and director of The Getaway.-History:Team Bondi was founded in 2003...
co-founder Brendan McNamara was asked if Rockstar (who published Bondi's 2011 L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire is a 2011 crime video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows. It was released as a 3-disc game for the Xbox 360 console, which prompts the player to switch to another disc at certain points in the...
) was considering the proprietary MotionScan
MotionScan
MotionScan is a motion capture technology developed by Australian company Depth Analysis, a sister company of Team Bondi. It was first showcased at E3 2010 and its use was first popularized by the successful 2011 video game L.A. Noire...
face-scanning technology for the next GTA game. McNamara replied, "Yeah, I think they're looking at it for every game. As much as L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire is a 2011 crime video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows. It was released as a 3-disc game for the Xbox 360 console, which prompts the player to switch to another disc at certain points in the...
is a huge game, Grand Theft Auto is incredibly huge, so you've got all the problems of how big the cast would be and how many lines would you have to record and all that kind of stuff. Obviously we'd like them to, and they're more than welcome to use MotionScan, but if they decide it's not right for that and want to use it for another game, then that's fine too."
Announcement and unveiling
On 25 October 2011, Rockstar Games announced Grand Theft Auto V via their TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account, which included the #GTAV hash tag and a link to their homepage, which displayed the game's logo. The 'V' in the logo is styled like a bank note. A message was printed below the logo stating that a trailer would be released on 2 November 2011. On 26 October 2011, Rockstar put a Grand Theft Auto V trailer countdown on their homepage. Shares of Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a major American publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Take-Two wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. The company's headquarters are in New York City, with international headquarters in Windsor, United Kingdom...
, the parent company of Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
, jumped seven percent following the revelation that Grand Theft Auto V is in development.
On 26 October, video game website Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
claimed that it had been told that rumours about Rockstar being set to make a switch to reality by recreating real-world Los Angeles for GTA V "are true" by "a source familiar with the game". Kotaku said that GTA V will be set in "some version of L.A."
On 2 November, Rockstar released the debut trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. Giving fans a first look at the upcoming title, the trailer revealed the setting to be Los Santos, the fictional version of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and its California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
surroundings, including Hollywood ("Vinewood") and rural hills and valleys. Additional features revealed in the trailer included golf, planes, jetskis, and a working gym. The song used in the trailer is "Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake was a successful concept album by the English rock band Small Faces. Released on 24 May 1968 the LP became a number one hit in the UK Album Charts on 29 June where it remained for a total of six weeks....
" by the British band The Small Faces
The Small Faces
The Small Faces were an English rock and roll band from East London, heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues. The group was founded in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band's...
.
On 3 November, Rockstar Games announced that Grand Theft Auto V was in full development and that it would take place within Los Santos and its "surrounding hills, countryside and beaches", and that it would be "the largest and the most ambitious game Rockstar has yet created", with Sam Houser
Sam Houser
Sam Houser is an English video game producer and developer. He is the co-founder and president of Rockstar Games and one of the creative driving forces behind the games in the Grand Theft Auto-franchise, being director and producer since the third game...
describing it as a "radical reinvention of the Grand Theft Auto universe". A version of Los Santos was previously featured in 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
, along with two other cities that were part of that rendition of the state of San Andreas (Las Venturas and San Fierro, based on Las Vegas and San Francisco, respectively). Rockstar parent Take-Two called GTA V "a bold new direction in open-world freedom, storytelling, mission-based gameplay and online multiplayer," while confirming that its story will focus on "the pursuit of the almighty dollar
Almighty dollar
Almighty dollar is an idiom often used to satirize an obsession for material wealth .The beginning of the realisation that wealth can engender quasi-religious respect has been attributed to British writer Ben Johnson, who wrote in 1616:The "dollar" version of the phrase is commonly attributed to...
in a re-imagined, present-day Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
." No release date or platforms were provided in the announcement.
On 8 November, Take-Two's second quarter financial earnings report included an update on future product launch dates, with the newest game to be added to the list was the GTA V, which carried a "TBA" release. Little official news had been said about the game since its announcement trailer, but Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick did have this to say that "Looking ahead, Take-Two has the strongest development pipeline in the company's history. At the cornerstone of our stellar line-up is the recently announced next instalment of Rockstar Games' iconic franchise that has sold-in more than 114 million units - Grand Theft Auto V. The creative team at Rockstar Games continues to set benchmarks for excellence with every new release and we're confident that consumers' enthusiasm will be rewarded with a breathtaking entertainment experience that can only be provided by Grand Theft Auto."
Marketing and release
In October 2011, HMVHMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
's head of games Tim Ellis said the announcement of GTA V will bring a new boost to the market. Ellis told MCV a new GTA launch is "a fantastic development that would inject huge excitement into the games market for fans, retailers and media alike," adding Rockstar would "face the challenge of delivering another brilliant game that’s as good if not better than anything we’ve seen before."
External links
- Grand Theft Auto V on Grand Theft Wiki