Until now, PC players wanting to play GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition could only do so through Rockstar Games Launcher. The good news is that the updated versions of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas are finally available on Steam and are coming to Epic Games Store later this month; the bad news is that they're still mired in technical issues.
Stepping back into the crime-fuelled lives of Claude, Tommy Vercetti, and Carl "CJ" Johnson, this time with updated visuals and improved controls, was a hugely exciting prospect when GTA Trilogy was announced. But the game's launch at the end of 2021 was rocky, to say the least. The myriad technical problems affecting the esteemed titles led to an apology from Rockstar and a promise to "improve each game going forward".
Rockstar has been true to its word and, over the last year, has released updates aimed at improving stability and graphical issues as well as fixes for various bugs. But as reported by PC Gamer, some fans claim that the Steam release is unchanged from the version patched in October 2022. The patch notes for this update didn't specify exactly what improvements were made, and plenty of major bugs remained after its rollout.
Twitter user videotech_, who works with GTA news site Rockstar Intel, tweeted (below) that they are "a little frustrated" at the lack of additional updates for the Steam release. "We've waited for Rockstar Games to address some of the biggest issues with Definitive Edition, which have been left unaddressed. And they have the full audacity to re-release the games in that state with no patch is beyond me."
Sorry for my angry Tweets... just a little frustrated. We've waited for Rockstar Games to address some of the biggest issues with Definitive Edition which have been left unaddressed. And they have the full audacity to re-release the games in that state with no patch is beyond meJanuary 19, 2023
Some who've played the games on Steam are equally disappointed in how they perform. "It's the EXACT same version that was last updated in October last year, and even that update was literally nothing," reads one GTA 3 review. In the review section for Vice City, one player wrote, "I was really hoping Rockstar would fix these games like they promised, but nope."
It's possible that Rockstar could make more improvements to GTA Trilogy in the future, and if you're keen to grab it on Steam, you currently get 50% off its regular price. That makes it $30/£27.50, and this promotional offer is available until February 2. The Steam version comes with achievements and has been listed as "playable" on Steam Deck.
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