The effects of GTA V on the AAA gaming industry are long reaching indeed. The game's influence has been felt throughout the video games world ever since it launched. From basic things such as rival franchise Saint's Row releasing a joke DLC called "GAT V" around the same time, all the way to influencing the entire mentality of player freedom underlying the highly anticipated and soon launching Fallout 4. However, GTA V has also started a few trends in game development. These are only becoming apparent nowadays, several years after GTA V's initial launch, as development times are lengthy and only now can we see the fruits of GTA V's influence.
A recent AAA success, while in a entirely different genre and setting, was still affected by Rockstar's blockbuster. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt featured a wide open world that could be freely explored, much like GTA V. Now, this isn't particularly special, as any open-world game worth your while is jam-packed with stuff to do, however the Witcher 3 also adopted another feature that was present in GTA V, and is significantly less common place. The game featured multiple playable protagonists. In some sections of the game, players assumed control over Ciri instead of Geralt of Rivia. While this could not be controlled by the player like in GTA V, the feature's inclusion is a clear allusion.
