 A fundamental design goal from the outset was to innovate on the series 's core structure by giving players control of three lead protagonists instead of one . The idea was first raised during Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas 's development , but contemporaneous hardware restrictions made it infeasible . Having developed two Grand Theft Auto IV episodic expansion packs featuring new protagonists in 2009 , the team wanted to base Grand Theft Auto V around three simultaneously controlled protagonists . The team viewed it as a spiritual successor to many of their previous games ( such as Grand Theft Auto IV , Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 ) , and designed it to improve upon their gameplay mechanics . They sought to improve the action gameplay by refining the shooting mechanics and cover system , and reworked the driving mechanics to correct Grand Theft Auto IV 's difficult vehicle controls . 
