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. Players freely roam San Andreas's open world countryside and fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.
Players can take cover behind objects during firefights to avoid taking damage from enemies.
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.
Los Santos, the city featured in the game's open world. Reviewers praised its design and similarity to Los Angeles. The departure from Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City was well received.
The mission "By the Book" requires players to use torture techniques including waterboarding to interrogate a man. Journalists noted the mission's function as political commentary, but some felt that the use of torture was in poor taste.
Rockstar Games UK Limited is a British video game development company and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Edinburgh. The company was founded as DMA Design in Dundee in 1987 by David Jones, soon hiring former classmates Mike Dailly, Russell Kay, and Steve Hammond. During its early years, DMA Design was backed by its publisher Psygnosis, primarily focusing on Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64 games. During this time, they created successful shooters such as Menace and Blood Money, but soon turned to platform games after the release of Lemmings in 1991, which was an international success and led to several sequels and spin-offs. After developing Unirally for Nintendo, DMA Design was set to become one of their main second-party developers, but this partnership ended after Nintendo's disapproval of Body Harvest.
Headquarters at Barclay House in Edinburgh
The original members of the DMA Design team in 2011. From left to right: Russell Kay, Mike Dailly, Steve Hammond, Gary Timmons, David Jones.
Sculpture of lemmings in Seabraes Park, Dundee
Until 2014, Rockstar North leased part of this office block on Greenside Row in Edinburgh.