The upcoming Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition has been in development for little over two years, eagle-eyed fans have noticed. Rockstar Games finally confirmed a current-gen remasters of classic games GTA 3, Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas after nearly a year of leaks and speculation, and the GTA: The Trilogy trailer set a release date for November 11.
Naturally, die-hard Grand Theft Auto fans have pored over last month’s GTA: The Trilogy trailer with a fine-tooth comb, analyzing every snippet of gameplay and cutscene footage for clues about how the remaster will play on modern systems - as well as laying out quaint conspiracy theories about the still-unannounced Grand Theft Auto 6. The internet has also been scanned for tidbits from the people working on the GTA remasters themselves, just as had been done in the months leading up to the collection’s official announcement.
According to Screen Rant sister site Game Rant, web sleuths searched LinkedIn profiles of developers at Grove Street, the studio working on Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition alongside Rockstar. Owner and co-founder Thomas Williamson recently shared a LinkedIn post noting that Grove Street has spent "over two years" working on GTA: The Trilogy, describing the experience as a “hard, quiet effort.” It was previously speculated that Rockstar Dundee was working on GTA remakes before it was officially revealed that Grove Street was handling co-development duties, leaving many to wonder just what Rockstar Dundee has been up to in the meantime.
Many players appear excited to jump back into the critically-acclaimed worlds of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas with the benefits of modern game design and hardware, but not everything surrounding GTA: The Trilogy has been positive. Common criticisms of the GTA remasters' graphics call the games “unreal” and “cartoonish,” and it has been revealed the Nintendo Switch port of the remaster will require an additional download - even when playing on a physical cartridge.
All the same, GTA: The Trilogy relatively quick development cycle makes sense given the project's nature as a simple remaster of three pre-existing titles - with most of the work going towards updating their visuals, overhauling the controls, and porting the games to the Unreal Engine. These timeless open-world classics can be experienced for the first time or all over again when GTA: The Trilogy finally launches across most major platforms later in November.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on November 11, 2021, and it will launch for iOS and Android in H1 2022.