FAQ

Like all GTA protagonists, they are all anti-heroes. Each has their redeeming qualities, they are still all thieves and killers.

Franklin is a young, loyal, level-headed, intelligent gang-banger who wants to get out of the ghetto. He wants to do this by becoming a big-time bank robber.

Michael is a professional thief, who betrayed his best friend in order to set himself up with a mansion in Los Santos. He's ill-tempered and not a great husband or father. Though he does try, to the best in his ability to improve himself.

Trevor is arguably the least-redeemable of the three. He's a volatile, psychotic, drug-dealing, meth head.

December 2004

The game takes place in August-October 2013 and set in the fictional city Los Santos, and the surrounding hills, countryside and beaches. This will be a re-imagining of the starting city in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) which was based on Los Angeles.

No. Rockstar has stated that Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) and Grand Theft Auto V are set in an entirely new universe (the HD Universe) from the Grand Theft Auto 3d Universe such as Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004). So characters such as CJ, Sweet, Madd Dogg, Kendl, Caesar, etc. simply don't exist in this universe. Grove Street exists in the game, however it looks quite different from its San Andreas counterpart and is Balla turf.

Vigilante missions have been replaced by bail bond missions that only Trevor can participate in. The player is given a target and must find them, capture them, and return them dead or alive (although there is a higher reward for capturing them alive). There are four of these missions; the player can no longer access targets through police computers like the previous game.

Michael De Santa is one of the main protagonists and playable characters of Grand Theft Auto V. Aged in his late 40s and the husband of Amanda and father of Jimmy and Tracey, Michael met Trevor Phillips at a young age, and the two became best friends, performing several major bank heists together. Michael retired from his life of crime after making a "sweetheart" deal with the FIB (fictional version of the FBI). In the process of the deal, he and his family became rich, living in a large mansion. However, Michael's relationship with his family and friends is deteriorating; his wife barely tolerates him and spends all of his money, his children have very little time left to spend with him, and even Trevor has a severe falling out with him throughout much of the game because of Michael's deal with the FIB. Running out of money quickly and tired of being bored and miserable, Michael decides to return to the criminal life.

Michael's special ability is to slow down time while in a gunfight, similar to Dead Eye in Red Dead Redemption (2010) or Bullet time in the Max Payne series.

Franklin Clinton is one of the main protagonists and playable characters of Grand Theft Auto V. During his childhood, Franklin never had a family, money or education to rely on. At some point during his young life, he began the life of a gang banger and dope dealer, but was arrested soon afterward. After being released from prison, Franklin started working for Simeon Yetarian, who owns a luxury car dealership as a repo man. As a result, he is frequently seen driving around Los Santos in many stolen sports cars. During the events of GTA V, in his mid 20s, Franklin meets Michael whilst trying to get a hustle. Both men soon do a job together, and Michael sees potential in Franklin, calling him "the son he's always wanted," and later introduces him to Trevor, which is where the main events of GTA V begin.

The special ability that Franklin can use is the ability to slow down time while driving.

Trevor Philips is one of the main protagonists and playable characters of Grand Theft Auto V as well as a filthy individual, due to his lifestyle and appearance. Trever is originally from Canada, which is poked fun at throughout the game. At some point during the late 1980's to early 1990's, Trevor tried to join the military as a pilot, but failed to qualify after a psychological evaluation found him unfit for service. Not too long afterward, he met Michael. Both men realized that they wanted to earn money by performing heists, and both men became successful in doing so. Some point afterward, both men had a falling out, causing a major rift in their friendship, which further deteriorates throughout the events of GTA V due to a botched robbery in 2004 that Trevor blames Michael for. By the events of GTA V, Trevor is in his mid 40s living in a filthy trailer in a desert, with his best friend Ron living next to him.

Trevor's special ability is to deal out extra damage, or take less damage, and he can also perform a unique melee attack when the special meter is activated.

During story missions, the player can switch between the protagonists as they work together to accomplish an objective. Outside of missions, the player is free to swap between the protagonists and explore the game's open world, the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles, and its surrounding countryside. Camera zooms out to a "Google Earth-style" perspective when switching characters and then drops into wherever the chosen character is. Even when the player is not controlling them, each character will still go about their own business across Los Santos.

In an interview with Dan Houser, IGN was able to confirm that co-op would not be in Grand Theft Auto V's story: It would be impossible to do that and keep the level of precision we've got in this. You could make a great co-op game, but we felt that we're doing other bits of our multiplayer that will fulfill those desires in ways we think are very fun.

Yes, you are able to purchase new clothing for each character as well as give them new haircuts and tattoos. You won't be able to alter their physical appearance though (such as making them skinny, fat or muscular).

Each character will have a specific set of skills but you can improve the skills of all three. For example; If Trevor is skilled at flying, Michael is skilled at shooting, and Franklin is skilled at driving. So you can improve the skills in these areas for all three characters, but each character will always be the best in their respective fields.

You will also be able to invest in companies which will bring in perks, as well as buy new properties/safehouses (something they originally said you wouldn't be able to do)

There is a large weapon customization as well as Pay 'n' Spray shops, now called "Los Santos Customs" being full out auto customization shops as well.

For the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, there are three editions. For the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as PC, there is one edition but it is enhanced from editions available for the seventh generation video gaming consoles.

Pre-order any edition of the game and get access to fly a blimp in-game.

There is the Standard Edition - simply the regular version of the game.

The Special Edition comes with:

• A unique Steelbook Case. This special SteelBook features double-sided, never-before-seen artwork of Michael, Trevor and Franklin. Custom color and metallic treatments bring out the detail of the artwork created exclusively for this SteelBook.

• A Blueprint Map. This exclusive, additional 21.5" × 26.75" map displays a blueprint view of Los Santos and Blaine County. Cryptic markings indicate locations for fast cash and other points of interest for the up-and-coming entrepreneur.

• A Special Ability Boost. Michael, Franklin and Trevor each have a unique special ability. With this boost, the special ability bar will generate 25% faster.

• Stunt Plane Trials. Single player Stunt Plane Trials let you take on additional aerial challenges spread throughout Los Santos and Blaine County.

• Bonus Tattoos, Outfits and More. Michael, Franklin and Trevor get bonus outfits in their wardrobes, character specific tattoos at tattoo parlors, and special deals from shopkeepers across Los Santos and Blaine County.

• Additional Weapons. When visiting Ammunation stores in single player, merchants will have special weapons in their inventory available for free: the Pistol .50, Bullpup Shotgun and melee Hammer.

The Collector's Edition comes with:

• Everything in the Special Edition

• Grand Theft Auto V Security Deposit Bag with Logo Key. Inspired by the heists in Grand Theft Auto V, this custom 10.75 x 8.5 money bag features a pop-up style lock and laser cut logo key to secure important items. The reverse side features a pressed Rockstar Games logo on the security mount with a framed ID window.

• Grand Theft Auto V New Era 9FIFTY Snapback Cap. This exclusive New Era 9FIFTY cap features an embroidered Los Santos logo on the front, a stitched, black Rockstar Games logo on the wearers left side, a Grand Theft Auto V logo applique on the opposite side, and snapback closure for an adjustable fit.

• Custom Characters for Grand Theft Auto Online. Get classic Grand Theft Auto characters to use within the Grand Theft Auto Online Character Creation System.

• Unique Vehicles and Garage Property. Players will instantly receive a garage to store custom vehicles. In single player, the garage will be stocked with the 1930s style Hotknife hotrod and the CarbonRS sports bike. In Grand Theft Auto Online, players will get the high-end Khamelion electric car.

The Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC versions all include the special items from the Collector's/Special edition, plus more.

Michael, Franklin and Trevor have their own separate lives with their own sets of friends and acquaintances, and even their own preferred ways of spending their free time. When you're not on a mission, you can freely switch in real-time to any of the three characters to drop in and out of their lives letting you see what they're up to. And because they have their own schedules, you'll never know what they might be doing you might drop in on Michael in the middle of a family dispute, interrupt Franklin chatting up some ladies, or Trevor on the run from the law or whatever else these guys do in their free time... How and when you switch between characters when you're not on a mission is completely up to you. In addition, each of the guys has their own missions and side jobs. There will be times on a mission when you play as one character, or as combinations of two of them, and sometimes as all three, always being able to switch between the characters mid-action. Off mission, its up to you. You can play as one character on his own or hang out with either of the other two or both of them, or you can switch between any of them. Having said that, you are unable to switch while doing a mission, and you are unable to start a mission while hanging out.

Grand Theft Auto V "evolves nearly every mechanic" found in previous games in the series. GTA V's world is bigger than the worlds of Red Dead Redemption (2010), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) and Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) combined. Areas in the game world include beachfronts, mountains, the wilderness, a "Salton Sea" region, a military base and the suburbs. The ocean floor is fully detailed and can be explored.

Grand Theft Auto V features more vehicles than in any Grand Theft Auto game to date, including BMXs, mountain bikes, road bikes, dirt bikes, huge variety of cars and trucks, helicopters, planes, fighter jets, ATVs, submarines and jet skis. The cars will feel less "boatlike" as in Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), as they will "hold on better to the ground" and "it feels more like a racing game".

• You can insure your car for a fee. Should it be destroyed, you won't lose your custom vehicle.

• All of the activities you can do in singleplayer offline you can also do in GTA Online, which include robbing stores, heists, races, gang attacks, sports like tennis, base jumping, golf and more, plus "ambient" events like armoured van robberies, crate drops, import/export car acquisition, bounties, the stock market and more.

• Online you can earn RP (reputation points), cash and more, including houses which you can equip with CCTV, deluxe garages that can house up to 10 customized vehicles, TVs and more.

• Trains, planes and dynamic events all work online. No more will the world feel like a lite version of singleplayer offline, like it did in Grand Theft Auto IV (2008). (Wild animals, pets and cattle, however, are missing.)

• Vehicle radios are shared, so as a passenger, you can change the radio station.

• When sticking up a convenience store in Free Mode, if you shout demands into your headset such as "load the money into the bag quicker!", the AI reacts to the urgency in your voice and puts the money into bags quicker.

• When doing robberies, whoever does the job gets the cash and can decide how much to share with other players in the same Free Mode session.

• Your custom cars show as markers on the map and get impounded if they are empty and you are near them when killed while having a wanted level. Simply pay to retrieve them.

• Rockstar will constantly add missions and content to GTA Online, plus players can create their own missions using the Creator tools.

• It's possible to spread the wealth eared from Free Mode tasks (or ambient events there) by sharing cash, weapons and ammo among your team. In turn, they can 'defect' and try to steal your cash so, like life, GTA Online is an exercise in trust and social dynamics.

• If you get killed holding all your cash, a portion will spill onto the streets. It's important to keep cash for your daily activities, and deposit the rest in the bank. Or wager it on races. Or invest in the stock market.

• You can use an ATM or the in-game smartphone to deposit and withdraw money. You can even attack listed companies and damage their share price. At one extreme, you might need a bodyguard to make drops at the bank.

• In your house, you can take showers, use your CCTV to see who is at your front door, surf the web, watch TV, drink booze, take hits from bongs or have parties. From the safety of your house, you can watch people within your 30-player (or 16-player) Free Mode session being chased by the cops, just like Police Camera Action.

• The last character on your character wheel for the Story Mode as well as progress therein can be seen by your friends who play this game on the same platform. However, you make the character played Online, by selecting the appearance of his or her grandparents, and inputting other characteristics information.

• When you speak into the microphone, your character's lips will move in-game.

• You can select what masks you use to hold up places like gas-stations and banks. You can then remove the mask, which will remove a wanted star.

• The high-end garage looks like a minimalist, gleaming white Apple showroom. You can pay a personal mechanic to fix your cars automatically, or deliver them to any location.

• You can assemble a team from your friends list, or recruit according to specialist skills. For example, some players are better at shooting, driving or flying, while others have access to unique vehicles.

• GTA Online may not always be limited to Los Santos. Additional locations are in the work (possibly Las Venturas and San Fierro).

• An in-game smartphone can call your friends whether they are playing GTA Online or singleplayer offline. You might also be able use this to set beacon or waypoints for your friends, in the future. While using the phone, your avatar moves their lips with yours.

The only notable feature to not be carried over from GTA IV's multiplayer mode is the presence of health packs (whether in Free Mode, a mission or a match) that could not only heal the player character when collected on foot but alternately 100% repair a damaged vehicle when collected as an occupant. Since players don't start from zero when joining or re-spawning, and since ammunition shops and vending machines are available; weapons, armor vests and health packs are no longer scattered throughout the map in Free Mode. However, as before, in the race type designated as "GTA", vehicle powerups may be present, and one kind of them (indicated with the floating icon of a wrench) repairs vehicles, drivers and passengers but not pedestrians. In the race type "GTA", contestants now re-spawn inside their respective vehicles instead of on-foot next to a low-speed, low-acceleration, low-horsepower scooter (namely the Faggio), so it is more of a proper race (but a death race) than a death match.

Packie McReary, Johnny Klebitz, Michelle, Terry Thorpe, Clay Simons, Rocco Polosi, Marlene Allen and the United Liberty Paper contact all return from Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) and its expansions. Radio characters Lazlow Jones and Brandon Roberts also appear physically. Brucie Kibbutz can be seen on the Internet, and calls the player in GTA Online. While Niko Bellic does not return, he is mentioned several times in the story and it is mentioned that he may have left the world of organized crime following the events of GTA IV.

Because Franklin is too smart to fall for their tricks, and Trevor would shoot first and ask questions later. It only works with Michael because he's the most gullible of the group due to him being in the middle of a mid-life crisis.

Corrupt tycoon Devin Weston is the game's hidden primary villain. Although Haines was the antagonist that drove the main plot of the game after using the game's prior, Weston later emerges as the true main villain of the game because he became the primary threat to all three protagonists (with Haines becoming Michael's antagonist, Stretch becoming Franklin's counterpart and Cheng becoming Trevor's problem) and is the primary shareholder of Merryweather Security Consulting (the main antagonist faction and primary enemies of the game). Also, not only did he have bigger plans than Agent Haines does, but he also has the ability to end Haines' career. And while Haines considers Weston as a friend and proves to show respect for him when doing him a favor against the IAA and comforting him when Merryweather is disbanded (the last part becomes a reality only if Trevor gets killed in the end), Weston has shown to not care for Haines and even manipulated the FIB into forcing him to go no further with his last task (the last part will only happen if Michael gets killed in the end).

Corrupt billionaire investor and tycoon Devin Weston is the primary hidden main antagonist.

Corrupt FIB Agent Steve Haines is the secondary main antagonist.

Corrupt Chinese Triad leader drug dealer and weapons trader Wei Cheng is the primary secondary antagonist.

Corrupt African-American gangster Harold "Stretch Joseph, formerly of the Chamberlain Gangsters Families having secretly switched gangs while in prison and grouping with the Ballas gang is the last secondary antagonist.

From Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (2009) or Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009):

General:

• Police computer. Instead a character named Maud Eccles has a sequence of five bounties for Trevor to collect, and there are also Rampage events that only Trevor can locate and carry out, which altogether are like substitutes for vigilante missions. Given Lester Crest's role, no part of the story elicits a need for any protagonist's access to a rap sheet database.

• Crouching. Instead the protagonist bends his knees slightly, curving his back, and moves silently; not so different but there is more vertical exposure than before.

• Firing from a taxi as a passenger. The closet thing to being able to do this is in GTA Online, through Merryweather Security's helicopter pickup service.

• Disarming melee opponents without killing them. The fighting mechanics overall are slightly different, providing other advantages.

• Vehicle save spaces on the street next to the sidewalk. Instead all save spaces except for the Vanilla Unicorn's are organized into either (1) safehouse garages without sufficient vertical clearance for large vehicles to fit in, (2) airplane hangars, (3) helicopter pads or (4) boat docks. Helicopters can only be stored on and retrieved from a protagonist's uniquely-designated helipad, and likewise is the case with the other types. (Also, if a protagonist travels too far from his safehouse [even the Vanilla Unicorn if owned], all but two of any vehicles parked in the save space there will disappear, as opposed to all but four like in the previous games. Instead extra cars or motorcycles are to be stored in lockup garages or the police impound.)

• Selling vehicles. Instead few hundreds of GTA dollars can be earned by whichever protagonist owns the junkyard, whenever he destroys a vehicle; while Franklin can earn similar amounts of money by towing cars. In GTA Online, one vehicle per real-time day can be sold at any automobile customization and repair shop (Los Santos Customs or Beeker's Garage).

• Six-star wanted level. The absence make sense as the only difference between having five stars and six stars had been the radius of the police search area which is no longer a mechanic of wanted levels.

• Internal fire escapes with or without roof accesses. The closest thing to this is the radio tower in Fort Zancudo. In general, there are far fewer interiors that can be accessed outside of missions explicitly involving them.

• Skipping to the next stop while aboard the subway train. The trade-off is that the protagonist can use his smartphone, bawl with other passengers, fire weapons or hop out of the train, at any time along its path, and riding the train is free of charge.

• ZiT contact. Instead the name of a song and its performer appear on screen in the middle of the radio station selection dial, which makes identifying the content much easier and more efficient now. Seemingly the company providing the service has no presence in the game, but via BAWSAQ, stock in the company can be bought and sold.

• Hanging from and shimmying along a fence or ledge, by hand. While the feature was useful for safely accessing a few areas, it could also get the protagonist injured or killed if the player would forget to quickly press the climb button twice when fleeing from danger by climbing over a tall fence. Out of the three games set in 2008 Liberty City, only one mission involved applying the ability.

• Leaving engine running when exiting car. The default behavior feature came in handy for quick getaways and was also useful for keeping headlights the turned on for extra lighting at nighttime, but the fact that flashlights can be attached to firearms is something of a substitute for the latter benefit. Arguably the previous game's non-default behavior of turning the engine off is too easily forgotten and its potential usefulness for stealth may depend upon habitual premeditation.

• Surviving explosions or taking no damage from free falling at great distance into water. For the latter, an element of realism has been introduced; whereas for the former, some realism has been forgone in that zero damage is dealt to a character if he or she is just far enough away from an explosion to survive, and the character does not even fall to the ground from the shock wave.

Thematic:

• Being pursued by either FIB Buffalo or Enforcer. Instead the black-colored, unmarked police SUV simply designated as FIB (the non-police variant being named Granger) carrying two SWAT operatives on its exterior (in addition to the usual four inside) pursues the protagonist at the corresponding wanted levels, which is mainly a new, more intimidating sort of ambiance from the way things were done in 2008 Liberty City. Meanwhile, the Police Riot substitutes the Enforcer, as the armored NOoSE vehicle, and is usually strictly used for road blocks. The Enforcer, the NOOSE Patriot, the NOOSE Cruiser and the Annihilator are all missing entirely, save for the fact that the Annihilator can be used by player characters in GTA Online. Meanwhile, civilian variants of the old NOoSE cars are present of course (Securicar, Patriot and Stanier). At the three-star wanted level, NOoSE agents are not called into service, and instead the LSPD deploys the Police Transporter for roadblocks. The distinction of ways likely reflects Liberty City's elevated concerns about new immigrants (like Niko Bellic), foreign visitors and illegal immigrants, along with reflecting the city's readiness to see them deported; San Andreas being more relaxed about such things.

• Receiving raunchy photographs through the mobile phone. Instead there is a serenity in that acquaintances, whether love interests or not, scarcely pester the protagonists at all; and semi-explicit material can be found scattered throughout the in-game Web anyway. The way the friendship system worked was one of the most heavily-criticized aspects of the previous game, as it has basically been removed, leaving no more worries about a protagonist maintaining good-standing with his friends.

Services:

• Backup (like Dwayne Forge's friendship benefit). Instead it may be possible to for any one of the protagonists to wreak havoc but not start any mission of any kind while hanging out with any of the other protagonists who will assuredly be armed; the non-player protagonists providing combat assistance the player protagonist. Alternatively Franklin's pet dog, Chop, can be helpful with certain tasks like locating hidden packages, while doubling as a security dog. In GTA Online, a backup helicopter that follows and provides combat assistance to the protagonist can be requested, through a service provided by Merryweather Security.

• Loyal taxi (like Roman Bellic's). Instead Downtown Cab Co. can be bought by Franklin, which makes all taxi rides for him free of charge. The beauty of old game was that weapons could be discharged from Roman's Taxi without the driver abandoning the vehicle and thus abandoning the route.

• Weapons delivery (like Little Jacob Hughes's, Terry Thorpe's or Armando Torres's arsenal). Instead all weapons become available at every Ammu-Nation store by the end of the game. However, in GTA Online, ammunition drops (but with no weapons) can be delivered upon request by parachute to the protagonist's exact spot if physically possible, through a service provided by Merryweather Security.

• Car bomb (like Packie McReary's friendship benefit). However, in GTA Online, non-special cars can be rigged to detonate when entered or by remote control, through services provided by any automobile customization and repair shop (Los Santos Customs or Beeker's Garage) that is visited.

• Helicopter transport (like Brucie Kibbutz's friendship benefit). However, it is available in GTA Online, through Merryweather Security, and the pilot comes to the protagonist's exact spot if physically possible. In addition, marine vehicles, aerial vehicles and heavy duty terrestrial vehicles, for piloting by the owner or companion thereto, can be delivered to the nearest of a finite set of select locations, through a service provided by Pegasus Lifestyle Management (for owned vehicles) or by Lester Crest (for borrowed vehicles).

• Vehicle delivery (like Clay Simons' or Henrique Bardas'). However, it is available in GTA Online, through a character known only as the Mechanic, granted only an already-owned vehicle can be delivered.

• Health boost (like Carmen Ortiz's friendship benefit). Instead the protagonist's health regenerates to at least half capacity, while he is motionless. In GTA Online, players can accumulate a small amount of snacks and bulletproof vests, using them as needed to boost health and armor levels; and a dose of a combat performance enhancing drug known as Bullshark Testosterone (which renders an an effect equivalent that of Trevor's special ability) can be delivered upon request to a spot within a hundred yards of the protagonist, through a service provided by Brucie Kubbutz.

• Wanted level removal (like Kiki Jenkins' or Francis McReary's). However, it is available for a prorated fee in GTA Online, through a service provided by Lester Crest.

• Job request. Instead all jobs are started by the protagonist visiting specific locations at certain time frames or by being called by a non-player character (NPC). However, in GTA Online, various NPCs can be dialed, a debrief of random previously-completed Contact Mission can be acquired, and the player can choose to accept to the mission.

• Race request. Instead all races can be started at will by the protagonist visiting sites that are indexed with icons on the map when not on a mission.

Activities:

• Bowling, 8-Ball, Hi-Lo, Arm Wrestling, Air Hockey, Dancing or Cage Fight. Instead there are Tennis, Yoga and the Shooting Range but not only those as darts and land races return from IV (though the player is only free to use the same specific vehicle types as the NPC contestants will be using); and golf, triathlons and base jumping all return from Gay Tony. In GTA Online, arm wrestling only with other players is available. Online also features air races but without NPC contestants.

• Stand-up comedy or Cabaret acts. Instead, there are nickelodeons or movie theaters with bizarre films and no real world celebrity appearances.

• Private dances. Instead the protagonist awards cash to the main pole dancer at Vanilla Unicorn. However, in GTA Online, dancers can be summoned to a protagonist's house.

• QUB3D. The arcade box appears but cannot be played. It may be worth nothing that it's the kind of game that would be a smartphone app nowadays.

Genres:

• Jazz, Ambient or Chillout. The closest station to carrying these is Worldwide FM.

• Eastern European. To be fair, this maybe couldn't be expected to appear in any story other than one involving Niko Bellic or a character like him.

• Disco. Likewise, this maybe couldn't be expected to appear in any contemporary story other than one involving Tony Prince or a character like him.

• Classic Rock or Metal.

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Note: Of course, any of the above could in the future be reinstated via downloadable content, but more likely to GTA Online than Story Mode.