To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto 3, Rockstar Games announced the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition. You know it’s serious business when you have both a colon and a hyphen in your title. It’s launching later this year on PC (Rockstar Games Launcher), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
The Definitive Edition collects Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and San Andreas. It features “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.” Unfortunately the teaser video above doesn’t show any of that yet.
In preparation for the new remasters, the original versions will be removed from digital stores this week.
Although we had seen some rudimentary open-world gameplay before (see The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time), 2001’s Grand Theft Auto 3 sparked a revolution in game design. GTA3 included a fully realized, explorable city with side quests, hidden goodies, and the freedom to go nuts. It was the first game in the series to move to 3D, third-person action.
GTA3’s huge multi-million selling success sparked two spin-off sequels that built on the same gameplay, but with new stories and settings. Vice City (2002) took place in 1980s Miami-like coastal city. San Andreas (2004) modeled California in the early 1990s. All three games remain highly regarded.
As part of the 20th anniversary, Grand Theft Auto Online will be getting special gear and events inspired by GTA3 this Fall.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition will arrive later this year on PC and consoles. It’s also coming to mobile platforms (iOS, Android) in the first half of 2022. The series is the definition of rated M for Mature.
