GTA Trilogy Remastered: Everything we know

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition

(Image credit: Rockstar)

As the release of the GTA Trilogy draws closer, you might be wondering if it's worth splashing out on it. The trilogy includes GTA 3, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas. As the earliest of those launched just over 20 years ago, it's a chance to jump into games you might have missed the first time around.

Rumours of a remaster started back in the summer, following Take-Two's decision to issue takedown notices for mods related to the content of older GTA games. Still, it was only officially confirmed last month. Here's what you need to know about the GTA Trilogy, including the planned release date.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive EditionComing November 11 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and the Rockstar Games Launcher. Pre-Order Now: https://t.co/sVYRq0sqVe pic.twitter.com/rVGIXjOXfWOctober 22, 2021

Here's the GTA Trilogy release date

The GTA Trilogy release date is November 11, 2021. You can pre-order it now via the Rockstar website for $60/£55.

GTA Trilogy remastered trailer: Get a side-by-side comparison

While the original announcement trailer didn't give us much to go on, the following trailer shows plenty of side-by-side comparisons between the original and remastered versions, giving you a good idea of how well it scrubs up.

GTA Trilogy: Here's what's changing

Grove Street Games, formerly War Drum Studios, has adapted all three games in the trilogy using the Unreal Engine. The studio is responsible for some of the mobile ports of GTA.

Enhanced visuals: As well as a resolution upgrade, you can expect to see a rebuilt lighting system with improved shadows, weather, and reflections. Upgraded character and vehicle models will look much cleaner, and new higher resolution textures across buildings, weapons, roads, and interiors should give Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas a more modern feel. Increased draw distances will also help to provide a new level of depth and clarity throughout the world.

Updated controls: It's not just about how the games look, either. Improvements have also been made to targeting and lock-on aiming, weapon and radio station selection wheels, and an updated mini-map with enhanced navigation will allow you to set waypoints to destinations. There are new Social Club accomplishments for members too, and you can immediately restart failed missions instead of having to return to the starting NPC.

While at least one undocumented change has been spotted, the removal of the Confederate flag from Phil Cassidy's t-shirt, Rockstar is keen to maintain each of the games' distinct aesthetic.

GTA Trilogy system requirements

These are fairly low requirements, so your biggest issue is probably going to be finding the 45GB of free space. It's also not yet clear whether you'll have the option to download the games separately.

Minimum system requirements:

OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K / AMD FX-6300
Memory: 8GB
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB
Disk: 45GB

Recommended system requirements:

OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i7-2700K / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Memory: 16GB
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB / AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
Disk: 45GB

Will the Dodo be easier to fly in the remaster?

Probably not.

Sarah started as a freelance writer in 2018, writing for PCGamesN, TechRadar, GamingBible, Red Bull Gaming and more. In 2021, she was offered a full-time position on the PC Gamer team where she takes every possible opportunity to talk about World of Warcraft and Elden Ring. When not writing guides, most of her spare time is spent in Azeroth—though she's quite partial to JRPGs too. One of her fondest hopes is to one day play through the ending of Final Fantasy X without breaking down into a sobbing heap. She probably has more wolves in Valheim than you.