News broke yesterday (thanks, Kotaku) that re-releases of classic GTA PS2-era games are on the way. GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas will apparently be assembled into the GTA Remastered Trilogy. Few specific details are known at the moment, but fans of the acclaimed series will no doubt be excited.
In the years since the release of GTA‘s PS2 instalments, each title has received a number of ports. But this new report suggests the GTA Remastered Trilogy will go further than previous updated versions. And there’s one big question on everyone’s minds. Will the new trilogy will be a simple remaster (i.e. an upscale of the PS2 versions) or full blown remakes? Let’s see if we can get to the bottom of it…
When will GTA Remastered Trilogy be released?
Rockstar Games haven’t confirmed a release date yet – or if the collection is actually real. However, reports indicate GTA Remastered Trilogy will be released this Fall/Autumn. Kotaku elaborated that it should hit shelves in “late October or early November”. The PC and mobile versions of the game may come next year while Rockstar focus on the console versions.
Is GTA Remastered Trilogy a remake?
It’s unclear at the moment exactly what to expect from the new GTA trilogy collection. We don’t know how much of the original games will be remade for it.
It does seem, however, that it won’t come with complete remakes of GTA III, Vice City, or San Andreas. Instead, they’ll be both – sort of. Kotaku’s sources reportedly told them the games would feature a mix of “new and old graphics”. From that, we can expect some updated visuals where necessary. But the look of the classic games will likely remain for the most part. Kotaku did state that each game’s UI will be upgraded. Although Rockstar are supposedly trying “to stay true to the PS2-era GTA games as much as possible”.
What platforms will it be available on?
Another thing to further support the theory that the games won’t be fully remade is their new platforms. The GTA Remastered Trilogy is apparently being developed for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia, Switch, and mobile devices. That’s broad – and the collection will have to offer a reasonably comparative experience on each device. And it’s unlikely that a similar standard would be achievable across them all if the games were to be remade from scratch. Not least because of the vast difference in their technical capabilities.
So, it’s doubtful we’ll be getting total remakes of these classic GTA titles. Much like the upcoming next-gen version of GTA V, the GTA Remastered Trilogy is far more likely to feature resolution upgrades and minor texture enhancements than anything more significant. But that doesn’t stop us from looking forward to playing these legendary games all over again on newer hardware! We can’t wait to see what Rockstar has done to bring them into 2021!
Are you looking forward to GTA Remastered Trilogy? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
