The Rockstar Games Launcher might have just confirmed the rumored GTA Remastered Trilogy powered by Unreal Engine technology. According to GTA Forums, the latest Rockstar Games Launcher update contains strings mentioning Grand Theft Auto III – Unreal, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – Unreal, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – Unreal.
The Rockstar Games Launcher on PC has just had an update! And with it… #GTATrilogyhttps://t.co/KYJZkVPqPq pic.twitter.com/ojQxVjSKP4
— GTANet (@GTANet) October 5, 2021
So far, we don’t have any official information on the GTA Remastered trilogy, but that may very well change soon. Recent rumors suggest a release is imminent, with Kotaku saying it’ll be out as soon as this Holiday while leaker Tom Henderson is adamant fans will have to wait until ‘some time in 2022’.
Rockstar already moved the Grand Theft Auto V next-generation update to March 2022, though, after it was previously scheduled for a 2021 release. One could guess Rockstar and Take-Two would want to space out these re-releases a bit, so if the GTA Remastered trilogy isn’t coming this year then we’d bet on a late 2022 launch instead.
Regardless, the rumors suggest the graphics overhaul won’t be extreme. Kotaku’s sources compared them to the classic titles with heavy graphics mods, though of course these remasters would also come with updated UI and other improvements. GTA Remastered trilogy may also come first to consoles (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch), with PC, Google Stadia, and mobile versions coming later; this wouldn’t be any different than all of the latest Rockstar releases with the exception of Max Payne 3, which launched almost simultaneously on PC after the console debut.
Whenever the GTA Remastered trilogy drops on PC, it’s sure to be on the Rockstar Games Launcher as well as, in all likelihood, on the Epic Games Store. Red Dead Redemption 2 launched on those two PC stores first, with Steam only following about a month and a half later.