A trilogy of PlayStation 2-era Grand Theft Auto favorites remastered for the latest generation of consoles has been one of the worst kept secrets in the video game industry in recent weeks. Rockstar has finally confirmed the GTA remastered trilogy existence with the announcement of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which will feature Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas remastered for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The catch is that all existing versions of those three games will be removed from digital retailers next week.
The trilogy is being released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto III and the impact it had on the franchise—and gaming—moving forward. While details on the remasters are a bit thin on the ground, Rockstar has promised the three games will get “across-the-board upgrades” like improvements to graphics and gameplay that brings it closer to the modern era, although they are “still maintaining the classic look and feel of the originals.” More information is promised in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, all existing versions of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas will be removed from the PlayStation Store during the week beginning October 11. This includes the PlayStation 2 ports of the three games available on PlayStation 4. It’s assumed this will also include the PlayStation 2 Classics Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto Vice City found on PlayStation 3, as well as the PS3 port of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. Anybody who purchased any of these games before they are removed from the PlayStation Store will still be able to download them from their purchase history and play them as normal.
Rumors of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition started back in August after parent company Take-Two Interactive announced it had three unannounced remasters in the works. Since then the remastered trilogy appeared on a Korean rating board and references to new achievements/trophies were found within Rockstar’s game launcher. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition will be launching later this year.
[Source: Rockstar Newswire, Rockstar Support]
