 Rockstar North began to develop Grand Theft Auto V in 2009 , following Grand Theft Auto IV 's release . Development was conducted by a team of more than 1 @,@ 000 people , including Rockstar North 's core team and staff from parent company Rockstar Games 's studios around the world . The proprietary Rockstar Advanced Game Engine ( RAGE ) was overhauled for the game to improve its draw distance rendering capabilities . The Euphoria and Bullet software handle additional animation and rendering tasks . Having become familiar with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hardware over time , Rockstar found they were able to push the consoles ' graphical capabilities further than in previous games . Analyst estimations place the game 's combined development and marketing budget at more than £ 170 million ( US $ 265 million ) , which would make it the most expensive game ever made at that time . 
