GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition remasters: Release date, major changes, price, more

A remastered GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition has been fully confirmed by Rockstar, dropping in 2021. Here’s everything we know about what’s coming in the remaster of Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA III.

For most GTA fans, they just want to get their hands on Grand Theft Auto 6. They want something new to play rather than dropping into GTA Online and Los Santos. Given it’s been nearly a decade since Rockstar dropped a new GTA, that’s not exactly a crazy request either.

However, for some time now, it’s been rumored that the iconic game developers have been working on something else – a remastered version of the GTA Trilogy. 

The original trilogy was released back in 2005, and there have been mobile versions of GTA 3 and Vice City since, however, they’re finally getting an upgrade for the new consoles. 

When is GTA Remaster Trilogy releasing?

The release date for GTA: The Trilogy – Remastered Edition is November 11, 2021 for digital versions of the game. However, if you want a physical copy, for PS4 or Xbox One, you will have to wait until December 6.

The remaster of these three games will release at the full price of a brand new game, $59.99 / $54.99. You can pre-order now. If you’re after a taste of these revamped iterations, players on Xbox can experience GTA: San Andreas Definitive Edition on Game Pass separately, on launch day. Alternatively, fans of Liberty City can jump into GTA 3: Definitive Edition through PS Now on December 7.

There were plenty of rumors about a remastered trilogy of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas, before the official reveal.

• Read More: Rockstar parent Take-Two finally respond to GTA 5 map mod takedowns

After claiming they’d have something special for long-time Grand Theft Auto fans, Rockstar’s publishers noted that they had three unannounced update iterations of previously released games. Or, as we know them, remasters. 

Now, Rockstar have confirmed that the remastered trilogy is being rereleased for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via the Rockstar Games Launcher. Mobile releases will reportedly follow in the “first half of 2022.”

GTA Remastered Trilogy changes

For anyone who may be out of the loop, the GTA Trilogy revolves around GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas, three games that redefined the open-world gaming genre. 

Rockstar have confirmed that the remastered version “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.”

“Three iconic cities, three epic stories. Play the genre-defining classics of the original Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas updated for a new generation, now with across-the-board enhancements including brilliant new lighting and environmental upgrades, with high-resolution textures, increased draw distances, Grand Theft Auto V-style controls and targeting, and much more, bringing these beloved worlds to life with all new levels of detail.

The “expanded and enhanced” version of GTA 5 is also set to drop for next-gen consoles on November 11.

• Read More: Rockstar tease big features that will take GTA 6 to another level

Of course, the question of if and when we’ll see a GTA 6 confirmation, remains.

GTA Remastered Trilogy price

GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition will cost $59.99 / £54.99 / €59.99.

Rockstar Games have noted that they will be removing the existing versions of the classic trilogy from digital storefronts. As the older versions won’t be playable, the remasters will now be the “Definitive” versions to play.

GTA Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch

Originally reported by a Video Game Chronicle, a retail listing shows that the Switch version of the GTA Definitive Edition may require a download once the game has installed. According to a listing that appeared on Target’s website, the game’s cover displays a message saying “download required – see back”.

Nintendo’s eShop states that “the estimated system space that will be required to download all three games is 22GB”.  This suggests that all three PS2 era GTA titles could fit on a 32GB cartridge, which is what the Switch normally uses. GTA 3 takes up 2.2 GB of space while San Andreas takes up a meatier 10.8 GB. GTA Vice City only takes 119 MB, which is noticeably low when compared to the other two games. It’s also not enough to be the full game.

• Read More: GTA Trilogy remasters will have GTA 5 controls

However, on Vice City’s own eShop page, it states that the game takes up 6.5 GB of memory, which suggests the game needs to be downloaded separately and is not on the cartridge.

Why this is the case is unclear at this time, but some sources claim Rockstar is struggling to fully license the soundtrack on a new version of the game. Although this doesn’t explain why there’s an issue on the Nintendo Switch and not on the other consoles, or why it would require a separate download.

 

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We’ll be updating this post as more information is revealed about the remastered trilogy, so be sure to keep checking back for updates.