No celebrities will appear in Grand Theft Auto 5

Don't expect to hear any celebrity voices in Grand Theft Auto 5. Keeping up with our coverage of the game, which received a boat-load of new details thanks to GameInformer, we've learned that Rockstar will not be including any major actors as their main protagonists in GTA 5.

The list of celebrity actors in past GTA games is quite impressive. The roster, which dates all the way back to the PS2-era, features actors like Ray Liotta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dennis Hopper. Moving forward, however, Rockstar has decided to part ways with that philosophy. Speaking to GameInformer in the latest issue, Rockstar's Dan Houser explained the reasons for not including other big-named actors in this latest installment.

"We've done two or three movie shoots for this game spread out through various three-week shoots," he explained. "I don't think there would be many celebrities that would be available even if we wanted to spend the money on them for the amount that we've used them for."

He added: "The good thing about most famous actors is they can actually act very well or they can do their shtick really well. Sometimes it's one, sometimes it's the other."

"I think it was really useful on the PS2-era games for bringing these somewhat simplistic characters to life," he admitted. "But when we went to PS3 and 360 I think it would become a distraction if you were like, 'Well, that's a famous person.' Suddenly these characters start to feel like they were alive a lot more and you need that to sell them."

"As long as you have good actors, not knowing them actually is an advantage in terms of bringing the game to life," Houser concluded. "I can't see us moving past that for major parts in the game."

Grand Theft Auto 5 is taking a new approach which actually features three playable main characters, each with different stories and  personalities. Throughout the different story missions, you'll be switching back and forth between these characters.The December 2012 issue of GameInformer is filled with other explanations from Dan Houser for many of the new features we're going to see in Grand Theft Auto 5.

I highly suggest you pick up the latest issue, which is currently available in digital format. Grand Theft Auto 5 is set to release in spring 2013 for Xbox 360 and PS3. The game is also available to pre-order from numerous retailers.