Rumors about remasters of some of the earlier Grand Theft Auto games are nothing new, and they gained momentum earlier this week when it was revealed Take-Two Interactive had three unannounced remasters in the works. According to Kotaku, their sources claim those remakes are indeed three PlayStation 2-era GTA games—Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas—and they’re heading to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, as well as assorted other platforms.
The publication cited three independent sources that confirmed the new versions of GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas are nearing the end of development at Rockstar Dundee. The trio of GTA remasters are being remade on the Unreal Engine and gameplay will remain as true to the original versions as possible. The games will feature a mix of “new and old graphics” akin to “a heavily-modded version of a classic GTA title.” The UI will also be updated but will still have the “classic” style.
How these games will be released is still a bit of a mystery. They were originally due to be released in a bundle as a bonus for players who purchased Grand Theft Auto V on PS5, currently scheduled to release on November 11. Then the publisher thought about releasing the games as a separate bundle earlier this year, potentially as a digital-only release. However, the coronavirus pandemic got in the way and they were delayed. Kotaku’s sources state the trilogy is now due out towards the end of October or early November for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia. The games are also expected to appear for PC and mobile but those versions aren’t expected until 2022 because Rockstar is concentrating on consoles first.
Those who may be disappointed by these rumors because they were hoping for a remake of classic titles like Bully instead may just need to be patient. If these remasters sell well, Rockstar apparently plans to remaster other titles like Red Dead Redemption. For their part, Rockstar has so far refused to comment, although they’ve been dodging remake rumors for a while already. However, these sources have reliably predicted the contents of updates for Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online weeks in advance and there is no reason to disbelieve them now.
[Source: Kotaku]