Stop whining about a possible next-gen release for Grand Theft Auto V – Rockstar reckons the PS3 and Xbox 360 game already feels next-gen.
Of course, the game won’t be able to compete with the visuals offering by the likes of PS4 and Xbox One, but the title has been re-worked and fine-tuned in so many other respects that Rockstar believes it is already ahead of its time.
“When we started we knew the scope of GTA V was huge and incredibly ambitious,” Rockstar North associate technical director and combat designer Phil Hooker toldIGN.
“Fortunately from completing GTA IV we had a team that was already very familiar with the hardware.
“Every aspect of the game had to be better, richer in gameplay and more fluid and knowing we were launching on the same platforms meant we could focus on extracting the most out of those consoles and making the game as fantastic as possible.
“In the end we surpassed our own expectations and during development I think everyone working on the game has been astounded by improvements to the graphics, or new mechanics, or AI, or mission scope along the way.
“Hopefully the gamers will see all of these improvements at once in one go, compared to GTA IV this definitely feels 'next generation' to us.”
Rockstar has drawn on elements from many of its other titles in an effort to make every element of GTAV work as smoothly as possible.
Look out for gunplay influenced by Max Payne 3, a weapon wheel born from the mechanics seen in Red Dead Redemption and driving influenced by Midnight Club.
Grand Theft Auto V will be released on September 17th.