Grand Theft Auto VGrand Theft Auto V commonly displayed as GTAV, is a video game released on September 17, 2013 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and later PC. It is the seventh installment of the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008’s Grand Theft Auto 4. An enhanced version of the game was released to next gen consoles (PlayStation 4 & Xbox One) on November 18, 2014. Finally, Grand Theft Auto V was released to the next gen of consoles (PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X/S) on March 15, 2022. [1] The game was developed between all the studios under the Rockstar Games umbrella. Rockstar North led the development with around one thousand developers working to bring the game to market. Budget estimates have suggested that 5 million were put into the development of Grand Theft Auto V, which would have made it the most expensive game of all time (which would later be broken.) Grand Theft Auto V LocationGrand Theft Auto V’s story mode is an open world action-adventure game that takes place in the state of San Andreas, a fictional representation of California. Much of the action takes place in the city of Los Santos (Los Angeles) with rural areas called “Blaine County” featuring versions of Californian locals such as Paleto Bay (Great Ocean Highway), the Alamo Sea (Salton Sea), and Mount Chiliad (Mount San Jacinto.) [2] The world of Grand Theft Auto is a sarcastic take on modern American culture. Los Santos is obsessed with excess with the locals being extremely shallow, while Blaine County is a place of poverty and drug use. Citizens of Blaine County often come across as the most stereotypical versions of white trash redneck culture. These two locations provide a wide variety of interactions for the main characters. Grand Theft Auto V Story ModeGrand Theft Auto V story mode takes place between three protagonists- Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips, and Franklin Clinton. Each character represents a different class of citizen in San Andreas. De Santa, a retired criminal lives the good life with his family, while Franklin is a poor street level criminal living in Davis (Compton), and Trevor being a redneck drug dealer in Blaine County. Throughout the story, each character’s arc intertwines with the other, culminating in an epic final mission. After an intro that is a flashback from nine years before the main story that shows Michael and Trevor in a robbery gone wrong that seemingly kills Michael. In the modern day Michael, who has been living in witness protection, catches Franklin trying to repossess his son’s car. This leads to Michael taking Franklin under his wing and returning to a life of crime. Eventually, one of his crimes is covered on the news and seen by Trevor who realizes Michael is still alive. He then sets out to find Michael which kicks off a long dramatic act where Trevor helps Michael and Franklin while struggling with the rage from being fooled all those years ago. [3] Grand Theft Auto V OnlineOn October 1, 2013 the online version of GTA released on the first consoles. Afterwards, it was released side by side with story mode on next gen consoles. At release, Grand Theft Auto V Online was a street level crime game where money was made via stealing cars, robbing convenient stores, and small job created by Rockstar. Overtime with the release of new downloadable content (DLC) money making and jobs became increasingly easier. Since 2013, GTA Online has received over 40 DLCs. Some of them were small such as the Beach Bum Update, while others changed the game on a fundamental level, such as the Heists Update. Over time, players were able to go from struggling for money to being able to earn millions of dollars. From owning businesses such as a night club to robbing a criminal on his private island (Cayo Perico Heist) GTA Online gave players the ability to “grind” the game to make massive amounts of money. To go with this new found wealth, each new GTA Online DLC presented new vehicles including super cars, motorcycles, helicopters, and planes along with clothing options, and properties to spend their money on. The once grounded game now has flying motorcycles with homing missiles, space-age laser weapons, and even a satellite “orbital cannon” to take out competing players. Grand Theft Auto V SalesWithin 24 hours of release of Grand Theft Auto V, the game earned 0 million and topped Billion within three days. Grand Theft Auto V became the fastest selling entertainment product of all time. As of 2024, Grand Theft Auto V is the second highest selling video game of all time behind the child friendly, Minecraft. As of 2024, Grand Theft Auto V has earned over .5 billion, making it not only fastest selling but also the highest grossing entertainment product of all time. Grand Theft Auto has consistently generated 0 million a year for the decade since its release. Grand Theft Auto V ControversyWhile Grand Theft Auto V received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its quality design and robust gameplay, the game has seen its share of controversy. As with all Grand Theft Auto games, the mature content and adult themes have drawn criticism from a variety of groups. For example, in the mission “By the Book” the player is forced to engage in torture of a captive for information while playing as Trevor. It is not a cut scene but a part of the mission that forces the player to initiate each level of torture of the captive, including waterboarding all while Trevor joyfully inflicts pain on the captive. This along with the overall misogynistic portrayal of women, including prostitution have led many critics to fight to keep Grand Theft Auto V out of the hands of young children. Grand Theft Auto V has been Rated M for mature since day one, meaning that it cannot be sold to anyone under 17 years old. Despite this rating, controversy surrounding younger players finding access to the game by parents not aware of the content found within Grand Theft Auto V with many groups seeking tighter restrictions on the distribution of the game. Grand Theft Auto VIIn December of 2023, Rockstar released a trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI with a release window of “2025.” The game will feature two protagonists, one of them will be a female, the first in the series. The trailer has had 221 million views on streaming service YouTube as of November 2024. Related-topicsReferences
ContributorsLast Modified: January 8, 2025 |
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