Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games . It is the first main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series since 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV . 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 arms smuggler Trevor Philips —and their efforts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam San Andreas' open countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles . The game is played from either a third-person or first-person perspective, and its world is navigated on foot and by ...