The launch of a new Grand Theft Auto has become a global phenomena of sorts. The sheer popularity of the franchise, notoriety of the series' content, and trademark press snafus are all synonymous with the GTA brand, and the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto 5 almost certainly won't be an exception.

With anticipation for Rockstar's latest title beginning to mount following the release of new trailers showcasing the three new protagonists of GTA5, it was only a matter of time before the developer dropped more media to fuel the rapidly growing fire. The latest batch of promotional materials has arrived in the form of new character art via Official PlayStation Magazine.

A few pieces of the new character art will seem familiar to those that checked out the three previously mentioned trailers, all of which made their debut earlier this week, but the rest of the art is entirely new. Further more, the art highlights some new characters that appeared in the trailer, but weren't allotted much screen time.

[gallery columns="2" exclude="187202"]

Two of the new characters in question are one of the protagonist's, Michael's, son and daughter (Jimmy and Tracey, respectively) and they can be seen embracing each other with the same mentality that many siblings often do — through inappropriate hand gestures. Accompanying them is artwork depicting Trevor's friend Nervous Ron, who more than lives up to his name based on the picture, and Franklin's fellow car-jacking hood rat Lamar.

While the art is far from indicative of how each of the characters will appear when rendered in-game, it serves as a solid template for what gamers can expect from each of the final character models. Fortunately, Rockstar Games just recently released a batch of new GTA5 screenshots, which should more than scratch the itch of fans longing to see some more in-game action.

It's also worth noting that each of the new faces in Grand Theft Auto 5 are tied directly to each of the main characters, and may allude to unique side-missions for each member of the playable cast pertaining to each sidekick-esque ally. This is, of course, just speculation.

Grand Theft Auto 5 will be stealing countless hours of your time on September 17th and will be available for Xbox 360 and PS3.

-

You can follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.

Source: Official PlayStation Magazine