Grand Theft Auto is one of the biggest franchises in the games industry. Entries throughout the Grand Theft Auto series have been some of the best-selling and most influential ever released, with Grand Theft Auto 5 setting numerous sales records. In recent years, fans have been eagerly waiting for news regarding Grand Theft Auto 6, about which there has been a steady trickle of rumors and leaks.
However, a recent leak reported by Kotaku suggests that a Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy is currently in development and aiming to be released before the next-gen port of Grand Theft Auto 5. The leak has not been confirmed by Rockstar Games nor the series' publisher Take-Two Interactive, but there is still a good amount of information revealed if they do turn out to be true. Many fans have called for a remaster of Grand Theft Auto 4, but the leaked remastered trilogy could be an even bigger treat for fans if it ends up releasing this year.
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According to the leak, the Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy will include upgraded versions of Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. Grand Theft Auto 3 was originally released in 2001 and saw players step into the shoes of Claude after he is betrayed by his girlfriend during a bank heist outside Liberty City. The game was a huge moment for the series, as it was the first to introduce a third-person 3D perspective that allowed players to explore its open world in new and immersive ways. The game was well received, cementing Grand Theft Auto as a series to be watched. Grand Theft Auto 3 has been visually improved by modders, but an official remaster would likely make the game look better than it ever has before.
Grand Theft Auto Vice City takes players to the series' analog for Las Vegas in 1986, and was released just one year after Grand Theft Auto 3. The game follows Tommy Vercetti as he is reintroduced to the criminal world after getting released from a fifteen-year prison sentence. The game was also well received upon release, and many fans still play it to this day for its soundtrack and environment.
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was then released in 2004, and introduced some new features to the series like a customizable character, RPG elements, and a massive increase in the available vehicles and player interactions across the game. The game also takes place in Los Santos, which fans may recognize as it is also heavily featured in Grand Theft Auto 5. The story follows CJ who returns to the city after his mother is killed in a drive-by shooting before he is forced to work with a local police force under threat of being framed.
One of the biggest changes reportedly coming in the remastered trilogy is that the games are being remade with Unreal Engine. Previously, the three games were developed on the RenderWare engine. The leak also claims that the remasters will include a mixture of new and old graphics, although it does not specify what that means. It could mean that the game will still use the original models with new textures to improve the visuals, or that players will be able to switch back and forth, similar to Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Either way, the move to the Unreal Engine means the game is being entirely rebuilt, and it could lead to the game looking incredible like Unreal Engine has done for a fan take on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
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As for what content would see changes, the leak mentions that the UI will be updated, but that it is striving to maintain the same style as the original releases. The leak also did not include any gameplay, but sources reportedly say that the remasters are trying to stay as close to the gameplay of the originals as possible. This will likely be good news for Grand Theft Auto fans who want to use the remastered trilogy to revisit the games they already know and love. Hopefully, the remasters will be able to keep what players love about the original games while upgrading them to meet modern standards. If available mods for older Grand Theft Auto games are anything to go on, the visual upgrade will likely be impressive.
Leaks should always be taken with a grain of salt, as many of them end up not being true. However, this particular leak does have some substantial evidence supporting it. One of the biggest pieces of this evidence is that Rockstar's parent company Take-Two Interactive recently announcing it was working on remasters across its various IPs, and a Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy would fit that description and make a lot of sense for the company after the success of Grand Theft Auto 5.
Further supporting evidence comes from Kotaku's original reporting. Firstly, the article says the source of the leak is a reputable source Kotaku has gotten accurate information from before regarding news about Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online updates. The other interesting note in the original leak is that the development of Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy is why Rockstar is slowing down updates for Red Dead Online. It does seem that Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy is likely to happen sometime this year, so hopefully players will get some official news on it soon.
Grand Theft Auto Remastered Trilogy is rumored to be in development.
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