In 2013, Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto V, one of the most ambitious open-world games at the time. All the hard work paid off with a product that still generates revenue for the company today. Despite being over seven years old, the game is receiving yet another release in the future on the PlayStation 5 with numerous enhancements.
Getting the game into people's hands was a mammoth effort, filled with trials and tribulation. The following details below point out several interesting facts behind the work that went into making Los Santos and the three characters' stories a virtual reality.
10 Some Scenes Were Improvised
Many of the characters were further developed by the actors after they were cast, including improvisation which went into the game. One particularly memorable scene sees Franklin laugh at Trevor when he slips. Trevor blows up at this before Franklin calms him down with some wise words. Steven Ogg accidentally slipped during the scene, prompting Franklin's actor to laugh, only for Ogg to continue in character.
9 Shawn Fonteno Is Cousins With Young Maylay
Shawn Fonteno, who plays Franklin, has pointed out that Young Maylay, who plays CJ in the seminal Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, is his cousin. The two have also spent time in recording studios as rappers. The two characters have different goals in their respective games, though it is nice to know Rockstar kept it in the family when they returned to Los Santos.
8 Influences On Trevor
Steven Ogg did not copy any one actor or performance when channeling Trevor, though he has voiced what characters influenced him. Particularly, Tom Hardy's performance of the titular character in Nicolas Winding Refn's Bronson helped Steven Ogg find into the proper headspace. Bronson is about a real British prisoner whose unrelenting violent outbursts earned him a life in prison, and Ogg pointed out the character's theatrics as an inspiration.
7 Over A Thousand People Worked On The Game
During development, Rockstar North alone consisted of around three-hundred and sixty people. However, the game utilized resources from several other studios in order to craft the expansive world. All in all, well over a thousand people had a hand in making Grand Theft Auto V. More than three hundred people alone is an impressively large staff for one game, but over one thousand is nearly unprecedented.
6 Franklin Got The Role From DJ Pooh
In a small documentary chronicling Shawn Fonteno's rise to obtaining the Franklin role, he mentions how he landed the part in Grand Theft Auto V.
He was always closely associated with producer and rapper DJ Pooh, who would often help Sean in the business. He recommended Shawn for Franklin, which ultimately got the actor involved with the project. DJ Pooh is also a DJ on the West Coast Classics station and wrote for 2004's San Andreas.
5 Ned Luke Was Initially Apprehensive
Looking at Ned Luke in person feels like gazing upon a real-life Michael de Santa. With this in mind, it is difficult to believe the actor almost passed on the role without a second thought simply because it was a video game. After being encouraged to read the script, his attitude took a complete one-eighty and he did all he could to nab the part. It is a good thing, too, since it is easily his most iconic performance.
4 It Made A Billion Dollars In Three Days
Grand Theft Auto V is not the best-selling video game of all time, but it is the highest-grossing piece of entertainment ever created. In just three days the game made over a billion dollars. Even Avengers: Endgame took about five days to break a billion. The game's success did not stop there, however. Grand Theft Auto Online has given the game even more legs.
3 Development Cost Was Over One Hundred Million Dollars
Grand Theft Auto V was estimated to have cost about one hundred-thirty-seven million dollars to produce, something which shows in every moment of gameplay. Video game budgets are rarely exact, but anything around this number is a staggeringly high cost. If marketing is included, then the developer and publisher spent well over two hundred million dollars on the product.
2 First GTA Game With An Original Soundtrack
Numerous forces came together to bring the first original soundtrack to a Grand Theft Auto game. Woody Jackson, who worked on Red Dead Redemption, collaborated with iconic electronic music group Tangerine Dream, Oh No, and The Alchemist, to produce over twenty hours of original music, which significantly elevates the tone of every mission in which it is utilized.
1 Grand Theft Auto IV Inspired The Three Protagonists
Grand Theft Auto IV stars Niko Bellic as the sole player character. The two DLC expansions follow two different protagonists during the main game's events, with certain missions having each of them cross paths. The positive reception to these intertwining stories inspired Rockstar to take things a step forward with the next GTA project. Instead of three separate campaigns, one single-player mode would follow three characters, allowing the player to switch between them at will and use them simultaneously during story missions.