Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition has launched on Steam and has been stated to be playable on the Steam Deck. This release was announced by Rockstar Games following rumors that this remastered trilogy of classic Grand Theft Auto games would be available on Steam or the Epic Games Store.
GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition launched in 2021 as a remastered compilation of Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. These three games were instrumental in making the Grand Theft Auto franchise a worldwide gaming sensation and were all more than worthy of a modern remaster. However, the Definitive Edition versions of these games were plagued with performance issues and questionable design changes that disappointed fans. Many drew comparisons between the GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition and Cyberpunk 2077 which was a similarly highly anticipated game that launched with poor optimization.
The compilation's technical problems prompted Rockstar to rerelease the original trilogy of Grand Theft Auto games on PC but only through the Rockstar Games Launcher rather than on Steam where they originally resided. However, these games are now once again playable on Steam as Rockstar has released GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition on the platform. This was announced on January 19 alongside the reveal that the trilogy is playable on Steam deck, a welcome surprise, given that the Steam Deck was not yet released when the Definitive Edition first launched.
As an added bonus, GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition is at a 50% discount until February 2 alongside other Rockstar titles like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2. This release and discount were not a major surprise to some due to previous rumors of the GTA Trilogy releasing on the Epic Games Store. This wound up being partially true as Rockstar stated on its website that there are plans to launch the Definitive Edition on the Epic Games Store later this month.
The legacy and reputation of Rockstar Games is one that it has been building for decades through multiple groundbreaking titles, and many hoped that the company would do more to ensure its legacy games would be accessible on modern platforms. GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition seemed to be a step in the right direction, but poor optimization and the removal of the original games from digital storefronts brought it two steps back. Nonetheless, the remastered trilogy still sold well, hopefully showing Rockstar that there is still plenty of commercial value in releasing older titles. After the success of Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, it is hard to imagine that a remaster of the original Red Dead Redemption would not be successful. But that is all dependent on whether Rockstar puts in the effort to give these classic games the treatment many think they deserve.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Rockstar Games