Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas remakes in development, launching this year – report

News by Dom Peppiatt Editor-in-chief

Published on Aug. 12, 2021

Rockstar Games is developing remakes of Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for PC, consoles, and mobile, as per a new report.

According to a new report from Kotaku, the remakes are being created in Unreal Engine and will use a mix of “new and old graphics” to replicate the feel of the original games without losing what made them unique.

As per the report, the titles are in development for PS5 5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Stadia, iOS, and Android. If the Kotaku report wasn't enough for you, the rumours are also being corroborated by Gematsu.

The games are reportedly aiming for a release date October to early November for consoles, with the PC and mobile releases possibly slipping to 2022. As for the release model, it is said that all three games will be available in a single package, which may only be sold digitally.

One source speaking to Kotaku noted that the graphical style of the game reminded them of a modded version of a classic Grand Theft Auto, title if you want a handy way of visualizing what to expect from the rumoured titles. The UI has been modernized, too, though it'll retain its classic GTA feel, as per the reports.

In terms of content, most of the game will remain as it ever was, though, as per Gematsu, "there will be some content changes to make the games more suitable for modern audiences".

The recently acquired Rockstar Dundee – who you may remember as Ruffian Games, the Crackdown 2 developer – is supposedly the main developer of the remakes. They're working on the remasters as well as helping Rockstar get GTA 5 ready for its big PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S release on November 11.

The report also suggests that Rockstar Games wants to remaster Red Dead Redemption, too. Whether that happens or not depends on how well this series of remakes goes down, apparently. It's possible these projects are the unannounced remakes/remasters we heard about recently.