After many, many leaks, Rockstar Games has officially announced the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, comprising Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas. The updated games will be released for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (via the Rockstar Games Launcher) “later this year”. Mobile ports will follow next year.
All three games “will feature across-the-board upgrades including graphical improvements and modern gameplay enhancements for all three titles, while still maintaining the classic look and feel of the originals.” More details will follow in the coming weeks. Rockstar has not yet confirmed if the games will be released as a single package, as individual titles, or both.
The existing versions of all three games will be removed from digital storefronts next week. Rockstar also announced that the games will come to iOS and Android in the first half of 2022.
The remasters have been rumored for months and there have been several major leaks including references to the trilogy in Rockstar’s own game launcher, leaked logos and achievements, and the trilogy was even rated in South Korea.
The remasters are being released as part of GTA 3’s 20th anniversary, and GTA Online will also be updated with anniversary-themed events, clothing, liveries and more. Rockstar teases that there will be surprises in store for GTA Online players, “including the upcoming possibility of some unusual activity occurring in and around Southern San Andreas…”
On top of the anniversary celebrations, Rockstar also teased what seems to be a new GTA Online expansion for this year, saying that “some well-known contacts and familiar friends need your help in expanding their “legit business” — with many more surprises soon to be revealed!”
Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas are considered some of the best games in the series. As with all Grand Theft Auto games, each title focuses on the life and crimes of the main character trying to make it big in a fictional city in the United States.
Vice City for example is based on Miami while San Andreas is an amalgam of southern California and Nevada. Check out all our reviews for GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas.
The trilogy will hopefully tide fans over as Rockstar readies a next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto 5 for PlayStation 5, which has been delayed until 2022. Though folks seem eager for news of Grand Theft Auto 6 more than anything.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.