Prerelease:Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)/2011

January

Five domain names for the fictitious websites (Lifeinvader.com, SixFigureTemps.com, StopPayingForYourMortgage.com, HammersteinFuast.com and CashForDeadDreams.com) were registered around Janaury-February, with the LifeInvader one being the earliest which was on January 7, 2011. In the next few months, more of the domain names were registered.

October

On October 25, the very first gameplay trailer for Grand Theft Auto V was officially released by Rockstar Games. While it didn't show much of the storyline or the protagonists, It showed what the world and setting would be like. This got a lot of players speculating that a lot of things from the 3D Universe would return (as judged from the lookalikes), even those rumors quickly turned out to be false over time.

Also, there are a LOT of differences present in the trailer, whether it be minor or not. Some of the assets were taken either from Grand Theft Auto IV and Max Payne 3, and the game seemed to be very complete at that time.

To do: More.

Main Differences

• Most of the pedestrian animations were likely motion-captured just for the trailer, and aren't really seen in the final game.
• Notably, a lot more foliage can be seen. It was likely cut due to the last-generation consoles not being able to handle a lot of detail within a single range. What's worse, not much of the foliage was restored for next-generation releases!
  • On the same topic, some of the foilage was "cut-paste" and weren't rotated around that much.
• A handful of the props seen in the trailer was removed in the final PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 release. Though, some of them were restored in the next-generation releases.
• A few of the visual effects present in the trailer were likely made with aftereffects, or over-saturated to give the player a good first impression of the game.
• The sun position of the sky is changed, and is a lot brighter than usual.
• Some of the car traffic or AI seems to be unpolished, resulting them in crashing more often or not stopping at the right times.
• The sunset overlooking Los Santos was slightly different, and the skyline seemed to be slightly incomplete.
• There was originally a heat haze effect that could have been seen from the distance.

Visual Differences

• There weren't many waves in the water, and resembled the ones from Grand Theft Auto IV.
• The engine sound of the red Rapid GT vehicle was different.
• The scene with the woman pedestrian crossing the road had poor ambient occlusion.
• The animation of the ped (which might have been an earlier version of Franklin) putting his arm on the vehicle while driving is not used at all. Strange enough, it was reused in the next-generation exclusive Grand Theft Auto Online: Lowriders DLC.
• The Pißwasser and ECola billboard had a slightly different design.
• Some of the boxes on the curb and sidewalk were rearranged.
• The fire hydrant was colored red instead of yellow.
• Behind one of the windmills, A plane that heavily resembles the Dodo can be seen flying.
• A lot more bushes were present in the windmill farm.
• The glitchy tree behind Martin Madrazzo's house was redesigned.
• The highway signs were originally a darker green.
• The construction site was a lot smaller and underdeveloped.
• The building in the distance of the highway had no Banner Hotel & Spa logo on it.
• The animation Michael De Santa does is never seen in the final game.
• Some of the buildings in the background of the house in Mirror Park were redesigned. The house itself also looked more run-down.
• Palm trees were present in Blaine County.
• The oil extractor prop overlooking the skyline of Los Santos was changed in color.

Minor Differences

• The build of the game uses quite a few elements from Grand Theft Auto IV, as the game is built off the same engine.
• The person practicing Yoga at what would be Martin Madrazzo's house in the final is wearing a white tank top. It was changed to green.
• The decals on the bench of Vespucci Beach aren't present in the final version. Also, the palm trees were slightly thinner.
• Some of the pedestrians had different reflections on them, which are highly reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto IV.
• The box in the alleyway was changed from purple to grey.
• The skyline of the city wasn't changed all that much. Though, some of the buildings seemed to be unfinished.
• The pesticide particles generated from the plane were a lot more persistent.
• The Bugstar gas mask looked slightly different.
• The Sentinel car resembled more like the one from Grand Theft Auto IV, judging from the matte color. Also, the billboard wasn't present.
• The crane in the background had a slightly different design.
• The small palm tree under the East Los Santos freeway was cut. Also, the lights under that same freeway were on during the daytime.
• The animation of the ped resting under the freeway tunnel was changed in the final version.
• The hedges beside the Banner Hotel & Spa wasn't present.
• There is a misplaced tree outside of the East Los Santos freeway which was later removed.
• The yellow trash can was smaller and wasn't textured right.
• The "2405" address (An Easter egg releating to Dan Houser's birthday) was replaced.
• The rear light of the Futo car was taken straight from Grand Theft Auto IV.
• The pedestrian putting in the "For Sale" sign at a house in Mirror Park had a slightly different shirt with rolled up sleeves and brown shoes.
• The Ballas and Vagos graffiti wasn't present at the Ace Liquor store in Blaine County.
• The tramp pedestrian doesn't hold a sign at all in the final game. Though, the prop is found in the files of the final game, just unused. Also, the animation to go with it was likely made just for the trailer because the animation is called "Bum Freeway".
• The drunk woman under the freeway is shown using the same "drunk" animation from Grand Theft Auto IV. Also, some of the junked items had less detail and different colors.
• The man that resembles Michael De Santa at Tequi-La-La is likely an earlier version of the Buisness_02 young pedestrian.

Other Differences

• In the Loud Approach of the Jewel Store Job, Bugstars equipment were used.
• The scene with the Sentinel car are two different scenes shot. That is because the first scene is set from morning and the second is set in the mid-afternoon.
• For some reason in the final version, the pedestrians turn away from the trash pile from the Mirror Park house for sale rather than walk past it.
• Prostitutes could've originally be found in Blaine Country as well as in Los Santos.
• The Hydra seen in the trailer isn't seen at all in the final game. It didn't even appear in the game for a long time until an update for Grand Theft Auto Online. Also, the flamelights were orange instead of purple.
• The Vader bike seen at the Tequi-La-La at night is taken from Episodes From Liberty City.

(Source: DeGenerator - Grand Theft Auto V Trailer Analysis BETA)

November

On November 5, a few select members who work for Official PlayStation Magazine UK were invited to Rockstar North's offices likely on October 18, 2011 to see a 30-minute gameplay footage of the video game, which was a week before the trailer was revealed. While it was saved for their January 2012 issue, one of the employees had written an excessively detailed description of their experience of the earlier build of the game, which was posted on GTAForums.

• It was said that the world would be four times the size of Liberty City from the previous game. In the end, the entire landmass of Grand Theft Auto V is just slightly bigger than Liberty City. However, it's possible that the person was referring to the island of Algonquin (where the city skyline is located) since the size of that matches up with Los Santos.
• There would be "nearly 100 NPCs doing machinery, operating vehicles, lifting and loaded, etc." But in the final game, a lot of those NPCs aren't seen at all.
• While the NPCs that were camping in the forest made it to the final game, the forests ended up being bare even though it would look "more beautiful than Red Dead Redemption". However, there were more trees present in earlier screenshots, which were cut due to limitations.
• A ton of interiors were present, including "a shopping mall, college campus, police station, a huge hospital". Only the hospital (which is seen in a damaged state) made it to the final cut, as a Strangers and Freaks mission.
• Weapons like "flamethrowers, remote mines, laxer trip mines and claymores" would appear, but none of them ended up making the cut. Interestingly, flamethrowers were originally intended for Grand Theft Auto IV.
• The reviewer mentioned that darts were cut from the game, even though they ended up making their way there. While some activities were retooled for Grand Theft Auto Online, others were cut. Examples include canoeing, ab-saling, and rock climbing are nowhere mentioned in the leaked production files, and were likely planned rather than implemented.
• People were originally going to be grabbed as "shields" or in hostage situations, like in Saints Row 2. It was scrapped, but mentioned in the leaked production files.
• The Police were originally going to use additional weapons, like tear gas, guard dogs and riot gear to knock doors down inside houses, but in the final game, they simply break inside the house.
• It mentions breaking inside houses, which could be done in a similar vein to the burglary missions in San Andreas, and using objects as barricades, but it's not mentioned at all and was likely planned.
• While torrential rainfall and sunshine appeared in the final game, tremors do not appear at all. However, they are included as unused weather effects.

In conclusion, a handful of these things ended up being true while a lot of the other points ended up being cut. However, some of the information seems to have been confused over and made up, meaning the source may not be real.

(Source: https://www.vg247.com/2011/11/05/rumor-supposed-gta-v-information-outed-by-uk-playstation-magazine-employee/ VG247 - Supposed GTA V Information outed by UK PlayStation Magazine Employee)

(Source: http://gtaforums.com/topic/490646-gta-v-trailer-1/page-41#entry1060829454 GTAForums Post)