GTA trilogy remaster rumored for all formats, including Switch and mobile

Rumors have been rife for some time that Rockstar Games was overseeing the development of a series of remastered editions of some of its finest games. Now it seems the rumors held some truth, with Kotaku reporting that three trusted sources have confirmed that remastered editions of Grand Theft Auto 3, GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas are close to completion. Sorry Wild Metal Country fans.

There are very few details to share about the GTA trilogy remaster and certainly nothing official, but we’re told that the updated PS2-era titles will be powered by some iteration of Unreal tech, with updated graphics and UI that should retain the look and feel of the original games.

As well as PC, mobile, and current Playstation and Xbox consoles, the three Grand Theft Auto remasters will be released for Nintendo Switch. It’s worth pointing out that the last Grand Theft Auto title to appear for a Nintendo console was Chinatown Wars for the DS back in 2009.

There’s some interesting backstory to the three remasters, detailing takedowns of promising fan-made mods, the creation of Rockstar Dundee, and release plans that have apparently changed a few times due to the fading pandemic. The Kotaku article also suggests that if the GTA trilogy remaster performs well, we might soon expect the Red Dead Redemption remaster that fans – PC gamers especially – have been clamouring for since long before RDR2 was revealed.

Assuming the rumors are close to gospel, GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas won’t be the only GTA remasters to appear in 2021. An upgraded edition of GTA V will also be released for Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in November. It will be the third console generation for which the absurdly-popular game will have enjoyed a full release – quite an achievement. Plus it keeps us from banging on about GTA 6.

The only full-3D Grand Theft Auto not being re-released, it seems, is GTA IV. Poor Niko.