MostGrand Theft Autofranchise rumors revolve around the inevitableGrand Theft Auto 6, but other recent rumors suggest Rockstar Games could be revisiting its classic PS2-era titles as well. According to recent rumors, Rockstar plans to release remastered versions ofGrand Theft Auto 3,Vice City, andSan Andreasfor modern consoles, though nothing official has been announced at the time of this writing.
Fans should treat these rumors with a heavy grain of salt and a whole lot of skepticism. The vast majority of Rockstar Games rumors and supposed “leaks” turn out to be completely false, and there is no reason why this wouldn’t be the case either. Still, rumors persist thatRockstar Games will have a Super Bowl LV adannouncing a new project, with some thinking it’sGTA 6and others thinking it’s remastered versions ofGTA 3,Vice City, andSan Andreas.
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While it’s unclear if Rockstar Games actually plans on releasing remastered versions of the PS2-eraGrand Theft Autogames, it would make a lot of sense, and here’s why.
Pass the Time Until GTA 6
Rockstar Games likes to take its time with its games. It’s been nearly a decade sinceGrand Theft Auto 5launched, and while the game and its online component are still wildly popular, there’s been no clear sign ofGrand Theft Auto 6. Rockstar Games has yet to officially announce the next game in the beloved franchise, and at this point, it seems quite likely that fans will have at least another year or two before they even see the game, let alone get to play it.
But while Rockstar Games has not released many completely brand new games this past decade, it’s still put out quite a few releases, mainly consisting of ports and re-releases of its classic games. And with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles out now, the new consoles seem to represent an opportunity for Rockstar to once again re-release thePS2-eraGrand Theft Autogames. If nothing else, these games could go a long way in keeping Rockstar Games fans busy while they wait for brand new content from the studio.
HD Versions of the Games Already Exist
One reason why a company may be hesitant to remaster its games for new consoles is the cost associated with doing that. After all, upscaling graphics, adding achievements/trophies, and making other tweaks costs money, and audiences may not necessarily be tripping over themselves to buy old video games. But the thing is,HD versions of theGrand Theft AutoPS2-era games already exist and are readily available on both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 at the time of this writing.
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It seems as though much of the work is already done, and so the next step would be to bring those games to Xbox consoles and perhaps package them together for a physical retail release. Maybe the games could get further improvements that take proper advantage of the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller’s unique features as well, which would potentially convince those with Sony’s next-generation console to pick them up yet again.
Rockstar Dundee
Rockstar North is the main studio when it comes to major new games, but there are other Rockstar Games studios as well. And the most recent studio to join the Rockstar Games family is Ruffian Games, which has since beenrenamed Rockstar Dundee. At the time of this writing, no announcement has been made in regards to what Rockstar Dundee may be working on, but perhaps the studio could take the lead on remastering Rockstar’s older titles while the other studios focus on new work.
Prior to the acquisition and renaming, Rockstar Dundee was known for theCrackdownseries, having released bothCrackdown 2andCrackdown 3. Unfortunately, thereviews for bothCrackdown 2andCrackdown 3were less than stellar, and so the studio failed to make much of an impact. Considering this, perhaps its talents would be better directed at remastering older Rockstar Games titles for modern audiences.
Rockstar Dundee has reportedly been collaborating with Rockstar Games well before the merger, so maybe work on these rumoredGTAremasters have already started in earnest. Whether or not that’s the case remains to be seen, butGrand Theft Autofans should keep an eye out for more information.
When They Could Be Available
As it stands, it’s not even clear that the rumoredGrand Theft Autoremastered trilogy is real, so it’s hard to say when the games will be out. However, we do know that Rockstar Games plans onlaunchingGrand Theft Auto 5for next-gen consoles, alongside a standalone version ofGTA Online, and so 2021 may already be full-up when it comes toGrand Theft Autoreleases.
The latest rumors point to a2023 release forGrand Theft Auto 6, so maybe the rumoredGrand Theft Autoremasters could come out in 2022, filling in the time between now and the new game. Then again, they could come out sooner, depending on their scope - assuming they exist at all, that is.
