Grand Theft Auto V is an video game developed by and published by. It was released in September 2013 for and , in November 2014 for and , and in April 2015 for. It is the first main entry in the since 2008's. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on , the story follows three criminals and their efforts to commit heists while under pressure from a government agency. The design lets players San Andreas' open countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos, based on. Players control the three lead protagonists throughout single-player and switch between them both during and outside missions. The story is centred on the heist sequences, and many missions involve shooting and driving gameplay. The , began soon after 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 and 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. It received widespread critical acclaim, with praise directed at its multiple protagonist design, open world, presentation and gameplay. However, it related to its depiction of women and a mission featuring torture during a hostage interrogation. Considered one of 's most significant titles and among the , it including awards from several. Grand Theft Auto V is an played from either a or. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. Outside of the missions, players may the. 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 may take cover behind objects during firefights to avoid taking damage from enemies. Players use 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 , such as. In combat, and a may be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter will gradually regenerate to its halfway point. Players at hospitals when their health depletes. Stars displayed on the meter indicate the current wanted level for example, at the maximum five-star level, police helicopters and 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. The single-player mode lets players control three characters: , and —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. The game may switch characters automatically during missions to complete certain objectives. A character's compass 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 -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 mission, players may either stealthily subdue civilians with an or conspicuously storm the venue with guns drawn. Each character has a set of eight skills that represent their ability in certain areas such as shooting and driving. Though skills improve through play, each character has a skill with expertise by default i. Michael enters 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, in vehicles as Franklin or performing as Michael. While free roaming the game world, players may engage in context-specific activities such as or. Each character has a for contacting friends, starting activities and accessing an in-game Internet. The Internet lets players trade in stocks via a. Players may purchase properties such as garages and businesses, upgrade the weapons and vehicles in each character's arsenal, and customise their appearance by purchasing outfits, haircuts and tattoos. See also: Michael Townley, Trevor Philips, and Brad Snider partake in a botched robbery in Ludendorff, North Yankton. Nine years later, Michael is living under with his family in Los Santos, under the alias Michael De Santa. Across town, gangbanger Franklin Clinton is working for a corrupt car salesman and meets Michael while attempting to fraudulently his son's car; the two later become friends. When Michael finds his wife Amanda sleeping with her tennis coach, he and Franklin chase the coach to a mansion, which Michael destroys in anger. The owner turns out to be the girlfriend of Martin Madrazo, a Mexican drug lord who demands compensation to avoid further violence. 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, a crippled hacker, they perform a jewellery shop heist to pay off the debt. Trevor, who now lives in a trailer park on the outskirts of Los Santos and believes Michael was killed in their failed robbery, hears of the heist and realises that it was Michael's handiwork. Trevor surprises Michael and reunites with him, after tracking down his home. In time, the personal lives of the protagonists begin to spiral out of control. Michael's increasingly erratic behaviour prompts his family to leave him. When he becomes a movie producer at film studio Richards Majestic, Michael comes into conflict with Devin Weston, a self-made billionaire and , who vows revenge after his attempts to shut down the studio are thwarted by him. At the same time, Trevor's reckless efforts to consolidate his control over various in Blaine County see him waging war against outlaw motorcycle club, several Latin American street gangs, rival dealers, hillbillies, Merryweather, and kingpin Wei Cheng. Federal Investigation Bureau FIB agents Dave Norton and Steve Haines contact Michael and demand that he perform a series of operations to undermine a rival agency, the International Affairs Agency IAA. Under Steve's direction and with Lester's help, they attack an armoured convoy carrying funds intended for the IAA, and steal an experimental chemical weapon from an IAA-controlled lab. As Steve comes under increasing scrutiny, he forces Michael and Franklin to erase any evidence being used against him from the FIB servers. Michael takes the opportunity to wipe the data on his own activiti
