In November 2012 Rockstar Games announced that the game was available for pre-order and three days later a twenty-three page preview is released revealing the first real information about the game, including the scale of the games map and the inclusion of three playable characters. Grand Theft Auto V was official announced by Rockstar Games in November 2011 with the release of the first first trailer, while retail posters released in October 2012 confirmed a Spring 2013 release for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, which was later confirmed by Rockstar Games. Animals also roam across Blaine County and the surrounding Pacific Ocean with some (such as mountain lions and sharks) being prepared to hunt and kill the player character.

GTA V also includes a fully explorable ocean floor, which can be explored by swimming underwater, scuba diving or in a submarine. The player can explore the entire map from the beginning of the game, although certain areas ( Fort Zancudo, Los Santos International Airport and Bolingbroke Penitentiary), result in a wanted level being given to the player. Grand Theft Auto V is set in the fictional state of San Andreas: consisting of the city of Los Santos and the rural Blaine County, which also includes two towns called Paleto Bay and Sandy Shores. He is starting to work his way up in the criminal world. He has previously worked with Michael in various heists, and has prior experience as a military pilot, allowing him to operate aircraft.ДЇranklin is 'fit and fashion conscious', working for an Armenian luxury car dealer, repossessing cars of those who default on their payments. Trevor is an emotionally unstable, sociopathic career criminal, suffering from drug addiction. With his money running out, he is being drawn back into a life of crime. Michael is a retired bank robber, living under the protection of the FIB witness protection program. Each protagonist also has a special ability, which can be triggered during gameplay: Michael can slow down time while on foot, Franklin can slow down time while driving and Trevor can become angry, dealing out more damage and taking little in return. The player can also customise each character beyond their initial appearance through buying clothes, changing hairstyles, getting tattoos and enhancing certain abilities such as stamina, driving skill or flying skill. Some storyline missions, side missions and hobbies will only be available to a specific character while random encounters can be encountered and completed by any protagonist. When the player chooses another character, the protagonist 'left behind' remains in his location for a short period of time if the newly controller character returns to the location where the other character was left, the two will interact and can optionally take part in non-mission activities together. The three protagonists have their own lives and, when not chosen, continue with their daily routines, occasionally resulting in the player continuing the activity. One mission also allows the player to swap to Chop, a Rottweiler dog owned by Lamar Davis but looked after by Franklin.

Certain missions involve two or all three protagonists, allowing the player to switch between them to assist in completing the mission. Grand Theft Auto V features three playable protagonists, a first for the GTA series: Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips, with the player able to swap between the three when not on certain missions or wanted by the police.

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