Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
A brightened screenshot from Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes.
Metal Gear Modders achieve Kojima's original vision for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain by fully integrating Ground Zeroes
GTA 6
Action Games GTA 6: Everything we know so far
GTA 6 reveal trailer screenshot showing a young blonde woman standing near a sunny rooftop pool, wearing a white and gold bikini
FPS Games GTA 6 devs "must be quaking" over so much hype, Hell Let Loose lead says: "Is there too much that people are expecting?"
GTA 6
Grand Theft Auto Some of GTA 6's big ideas are likely hiding in GTA 5, ex-Rockstar dev predicts – and you can look at GTA 4 to see why
Hand placing custom face plate on Steam Machine mini PC.
Games From GTA 6 to the rise of AI, here are the biggest trends to watch out for at GDC 2026
Best Sega Saturn games
Retro Best Saturn games of all time from Die Hard Arcade to Panzer Dragoon Saga
Dreamcast
Games The 25 best Dreamcast games of all time
GTA 5 new
Action Games 25 Best Rockstar Games of all time, ranked
Tony Hawk on the cover of the GBA edition of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Sports Games $1 million in debt, devs on handheld Tony Hawk's Pro Skater saved the company by pitching an impossible port
GTA 3
Grand Theft Auto GTA 3 cheats for unlimited money, weapons, armor, and much more
Mario Kart Arcade GP key art, with Pac-Man and Mario racing against each other
Racing Games Nintendo's forgotten Mario Kart game is finally playable again as the best GameCube emulator gets even better
Three playable characters stand in a triangle wearing suits and holding guns in GTA 5
Grand Theft Auto Team behind GTA 5 multiplayer mod that rivalled Rockstar-owned FiveM says Take-Two is shutting the project down
Rayman PS1 case sitting on top of console next to controller.
Retro The Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition is neat and all, but I'd still recommend playing the PS1 original on original hardware
Photo of Acemagic Dreamcast-inspired mini PC at CES 2026
Desktop PCs Looks like we're getting a Dreamcast Mini (sort of), and it's a mini PC I'd potentially grab over a Steam Machine
A character fighting a chicken in Fable.
RPGs As GTA 6 looms near Fable's fall release date, Xbox Game Studios head isn't super worried about Rockstar
  1. Games
  2. Action Games
  3. Grand Theft Auto
  4. Grand Theft Auto 3

The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"

News
By Scott McCrae published 12 March 2025

I suppose this is the part where I say, ‘we got GTA 3 on the Dreamcast before GTA 6.’

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
(Image credit: Rockstar)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
1
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

I, like many others, am not over the premature death of the Sega Dreamcast. Any console that brought Dynamite Cop to the home deserved a better shot, but the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube (but let’s be real, mostly the PS2) were too powerful for it, and that was that. Although, if anything could have saved the Dreamcast, it would’ve been GTA 3. The game was originally in the works for Sega’s platform, and a group of developers are looking to correct the timeline and bring the game to the Dreamcast over 20 years later.

While the GTA 3 Dreamcast port released a playable build late last year, the development team hasn’t given up on improving the version (despite already working on a port of Vice City for the platform). While the previous demo was undoubtedly impressive, it was a bit rough; the framerate was choppy, and there were a ton of jaggies. However, the new look at the port that developer Falco Girgis shared on Twitter blows it out of the water. The new look shows the game running far smoother, with less texture pop-in, all while having what seems to be a more populated world.

However, the developer admits that this version of the game "would’ve previously been a slideshow"; but, thanks to some extra tinkering with the engine on Girgis’ part, "I went through all of the low-level common math infrastructure in both the engine and at the RenderWare driver layer and made numerous optimizations before slowly working my way up to optimizing individual algorithms at the application layer using the new math routines."

You may like
  • Vice City GTA Vice City was briefly playable in your web browser, until Rockstar owner Take-Two reportedly struck it down
  • GTA 6 reveal trailer screenshot showing a young blonde woman standing near a sunny rooftop pool, wearing a white and gold bikini GTA 6 devs "must be quaking" over so much hype, Hell Let Loose lead says: "Is there too much that people are expecting?"
  • GTA 6 Ex-Rockstar lead says all GTA competitors have "given up," but there's still "an opportunity" to challenge Rockstar

While these developers cannot go back in time and save the Dreamcast from its fate, it’s undeniably a fascinating look at what could have been if Rockstar hadn’t made the (right) decision to go with the PS2 for commercial reasons.

Speaking of the GTA 3 that could have been; a former Rockstar developer revealed the game originally gave you a wanted level for running a red light, but it "was not popular with the team" so it was nixed.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Platforms
Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
Social Links Navigation
Contributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Vice City
GTA Vice City was briefly playable in your web browser, until Rockstar owner Take-Two reportedly struck it down
 
 
GTA 6 reveal trailer screenshot showing a young blonde woman standing near a sunny rooftop pool, wearing a white and gold bikini
GTA 6 devs "must be quaking" over so much hype, Hell Let Loose lead says: "Is there too much that people are expecting?"
 
 
GTA 6
Ex-Rockstar lead says all GTA competitors have "given up," but there's still "an opportunity" to challenge Rockstar
 
 
GTA 2
We'll probably never see a Grand Theft Auto set in a futuristic city like GTA 2 because the team "hated it"
 
 
GTA 4
Former Rockstar technical director " didn’t like GTA 4 that much" at launch because "we had to sacrifice so much"
 
 
GTA 6
GTA 6 "will redefine players' standards" according to JRPG legends from Atlus, Square Enix, and Sega
 
 
Latest in Grand Theft Auto
GTA 6
Some of GTA 6's big ideas are likely hiding in GTA 5, ex-Rockstar dev predicts – and you can look at GTA 4 to see why
 
 
GTA 6 Lucia
GTA 6's fall clash with Marvel's Wolverine is no worry for Logan's actor who'll "play so much" that "it'll be troubling"
 
 
The protagonist of GTA 4 holding his hand out in front of a Diner
GTA 4 was apparently "so ahead of its time" that its own tech lead didn't know helicopters could do this
 
 
GTA 6
A free copy of GTA 6 could be yours, Norwegian retailer says, all you have to do is have a baby on release day
 
 
Three playable characters stand in a triangle wearing suits and holding guns in GTA 5
Team behind GTA 5 multiplayer mod that rivalled Rockstar-owned FiveM says Take-Two is shutting the project down
 
 
GTA 6
Google's Project Genie is "not even in the same ballpark" as a real game engine according to Take-Two
 
 
Latest in News
Dragon Quest 11
Dragon Quest creator says English is "a simple language," so "the flavor tends to get lost" when translating games
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem is too scary for series veteran Hideki Kamiya, who argues Capcom "should make a 'non-scary' mode"
 
 
Yoshi and the Mysterious Boook screenshot of Yoshi smiling with eyes closed
The next big Switch 2 exclusive, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, gets a May release date out of nowhere
 
 
Monkey D. Luffy looking confused on an island in One Piece Egghead Island
One Piece season 2 answers a near 30-year-old manga mystery in surprisingly straightforward fashion
 
 
Runescape
MMO raises subscription prices less than 2 months after ditching microtransactions, causing a RuneScape fan revolt
 
 
One Piece
One Piece season 2 is a live-action adaptation to treasure as it debuts to perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Monkey D. Luffy looking confused on an island in One Piece Egghead Island
    1
    One Piece season 2 answers a near 30-year-old manga mystery in surprisingly straightforward fashion
  2. 2
    Corsair's two best gaming chairs have been hit with discounts in Amazon's Spring sale
  3. 3
    Resident Evil Requiem is too scary for series veteran Hideki Kamiya, who argues Capcom "should make a 'non-scary' mode"
  4. 4
    The next big Switch 2 exclusive, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, gets a May release date out of nowhere
  5. 5
    MMO raises subscription prices less than 2 months after ditching microtransactions, causing a RuneScape fan revolt

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...