Fans are angered following Rockstar’s reveal that its GTA trilogy remaster will be a Launcher exclusive after removing the original titles on Steam.
Angered fans have taken to social media following the announcement that Rockstar Games will be delisting classic Grand Theft Auto titles – Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – on digital storefronts next week, including Steam. The classic versions on PC will be replaced with the newly remastered Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition, exclusive to the Rockstar Launcher. As well as coming to PC, the remastered games are set to launch on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S; as well as the Switch, marking a series return to a Nintendo console more than a decade after Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS.
While its pricing, release date, and technical improvements haven’t yet been shared or detailed, the GTA trilogy remaster is expected to touch upon the PS2 classics. These various upgrades will include graphical improvements and gameplay enhancements for modern professional standards, but with the intention of staying true to the feel and look of the originals. More in-depth details are slated for later this month, as Grand Theft Auto 3‘s 20th anniversary is on October 22.
Following its major announcement, Rockstar Games has revealed that the classic versions of the original Grand Theft Auto trilogy will no longer be sold beginning next week, and some fans have expressed their anger toward this decision on social media. This is primarily due to the fact that the developer is completely removing the games from Steam, seemingly in order to push players in the direction of its Rockstar Launcher for access to the remaster trilogy. As the retro market inflation value continues, this can be hard for many players, as purchasing physical or digital copies of older and delisted games has become extremely difficult; and some preservationists prefer to play their games in their original forms without any enhancements or changes.
Guys, just remember they are making these remasters for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, the Rockstar Games Launcher on PC, iOS and Android
Always a good sign *cough*
Is the emphasis of the games launcher suggesting it won’t be on steam?
— DarkViperAU (@DarkViperAU) October 8, 2021
The remaster of the first three Grand Theft Auto installments has received a spike in attention over the past few months. Speculation that Rockstar would release a remaster trilogy originally began circulating when the developer’s publisher, Take-Two Interactive, aggressively took down popular Grand Theft Auto mods. The company recently issued an ongoing lawsuit against a group of programmers behind two enhanced Grand Theft Auto fan projects.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition is set to release this year; and although some fans are bewildered that the PC version is exclusive to the developer’s launcher, some are thrilled to see Rockstar’s cult-favorite trilogy return enhanced for next-gen. While little is known as to whether it will appear on Steam in the future, players can look forward to more details in the following weeks.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition is set to launch on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch in 2021, as well on iOS and Android in the first half of 2022.
Source: Low Poly Depression/Twitter, DarkViperAU/Twitter
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