Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Gets November Release Date

22 October, 2021 - 3:54 pm by Joseph Whitfield
About 5 mins to read

Batting for one of the longest video game titles we’ve written about in a while, Rockstar have lifted the lid on Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, with their first trailer. Along with a myriad of changes to the first three 3D entries into the series, we also have pricing and a November release date. Let’s have a look shall we?

The trailer below nicely highlights the visual upgrades to expect when Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition releases on PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC & Nintendo Switch on 11th November. Graphically, characters are certainly smoother and less jagged when compared to the original PlayStation 2 releases and the environments are a hell of a lot more vibrant than before.

From the technical side, the PS5, Series X & PC versions will run up to 4K/60FPS with DLSS support for PC players. Faster loading, updated assets and weather mechanics are all wrapped up in a neat package and the lighting system has been completely rebuilt.

Apart from the lick of paint and new mechanics, The Trilogy also includes quality of life updates such as:

GTA V control scheme
Improved gun play and targeting
San Andreas has a refined Drive-By control set up (thank you Rockstar!)
Improved minimaps, with manual waypoints
Gyro aiming and touch controls will feature in the Nintendo Switch version

We’re a bit perplexed as to the naming of the game, but the release will include full versions of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. If you’ve played any of the previous games before you know you’re getting a lot of video game for your money as each one is huge in scale.

Grand Theft Auto III

Released TWENTY years ago for the PlayStation 2, GTA III was the first game in the series to present a fully 3D open world and boy did it do that! Set in Liberty City, the players were given free reign to explore the dark criminal underworld and approach missions in whatever fashion they chose. It oozed the dark humour and, as would become the norm for the series, there was an epic voice cast as well as a stellar soundtrack to enjoy as you fled from the Rozzers.

Grand Theft Auto Vice City

Releasing in 2002, a year after GTA III, Grand Theft Auto Vice City built on everything that came before it but put players in the vibrant Vice City, a 1980s neon dripped location that heavily riffs on the city of Miami. Here we follow Tommy Vercetti, fresh from prison as he embarks on a quest to sit at the top the criminal underworld, a storyline that drew parallels to the gangster classic film Scarface. Somehow the game was larger than the game that released a year earlier and players could visit the beach, city and even the swamp across the two islands.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Aww here we go again. It seems odd to be thinking Rockstar could churn out three massive open world games across 3 years, but in 2004, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas released and became the series’ best selling game at the time. Set in the 1990s, we were introduced to CJ a member of the Los Santos-based Grove Street Families street gang, who set off for a better life but ended up stuck in a life of crime. The open world was again bigger, and drew from the entire state of California, which allowed developers to include more varied environments to explore. The featured a cast wasn’t to be sniffed at either, comprising of rapper Young Maylay as CJ as well as support from Danny Dyer, Shaun Ryder and Ice-T.

In a move to entice players to experience these games, Rockstar have also confirmed that Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Definitive Edition will release on Xbox Game Pass on 11th November, where as Grand Theft Auto III Definitive Edition will be playable for PS Now subscribers from 7th December.

It’s not all good news surrounding Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. Rockstar quietly delisted the PS2 versions of the game from the PlayStation & Microsoft storefronts earlier in the week to ensure players only had the one option to get their GTA fix on the modern consoles.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition releases on PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC & Nintendo Switch on 11th November for £55/€60/$60. A physical release is expected on the 6th December.