 Preliminary work on Grand Theft Auto V began on Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 , shortly after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV in April 2008 , but later gave way to focus more on the consoles before returning greater focus to the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One and Windows versions . Rockstar North , the core 360 @-@ person team behind the game , co @-@ opted studios owned by parent company Rockstar Games to facilitate development between a full team of over 1 @,@ 000 . These included Rockstar NYC , Rockstar San Diego , Rockstar Leeds , Rockstar Toronto , Rockstar New England , Rockstar London and Rockstar Lincoln . Technical director Adam Fowler said that , while development was shared between studios in different countries , the process involved close collaboration between the core team and others . This was necessary because many mechanics in the game work in tandem , which would have created difficulties if studios did not communicate with each other . 
