The rumours appear to be true: the golden era of Grand Theft Auto games are getting the remaster treatment and could be due for a release very soon.
Kotaku has reported that Rockstar, the makers of the GTA series as well as a host of other smash hit games, has confirmed to them that three games will be remastered and released across all current gen platforms.
The games in the lineup are Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas which will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC, Stadia, and mobile phones.
The games have been remastered using Unreal Engine and will be a mix of “new and old graphics,” according to Rockstar.
Fans will not have to wait long to re-live the famously graphic and gratuitously violent epics as a release date has been pencilled for late October or early November.
Rumours about the Scottish games giant remastering some of their incredibly popular back catalogue have been swirling around on social media for the past year, particularly after Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, removed a bunch of modifications for the games from the internet.
The confirmation of these releases will be huge news to fans of the PlayStation 2-era of classic open world gaming. Games in the GTA series are some of the best selling of all time, with GTA: San Andreas being the most popular game of the year when it was released in 2004. The game sold 27.5 million copies worldwide in its first seven years.
That’s almost nothing however compared to its sequel, GTA V, which has so far sold 145 million copies since its release in 2013. It is the second most successful game of all time behind only Minecraft.
The trend of legacy gaming giants like Rockstar remaking and remastering their old games for re-release has been on the rise over the past few years. Recently we saw an updated release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 as a package release and Nintendo has recently remade The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Nintendo Switch.
The remakes of the classic GTA games are thought to be being kept as close to the originals as possible and will mainly feature graphics updates. According to Kotaku, the games are thought to play like heavily-modded versions of the originals, bringing them up to date with the latest developments in gaming graphics and interface.
They look set to be released as a package deal via digital platforms only.
Rockstar also has plans to remaster the original Red Dead Redemption game as well, although fans will have to wait a little longer to see this.
Still, it could be an epic year for nostalgia-driven gameplay for anyone who wants to kill pedestrians with chainsaws and run police over with their own vehicles.
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