Rockstar drops an unexpected GTA Trilogy update that makes the PC version almost as good as the one you can play on your phone
Rockstar has rolled out a surprise update for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (which I will henceforth be calling the GTA Trilogy) and it's good news for fans, because apparently the PC edition is almost as good as the mobile version now.
I kid, but not entirely. You will recall that when the GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition launched in 2021, it was a mess—and not in the sense of "Wow, this looks old," but, well:
The mobile version, which arrived in late 2023 via Netflix, was outstanding by comparison: Mobile gaming site TouchArcade scored it 4.5/5, calling it "better than the PC and console versions in almost every way." One of the big reasons for that was the addition of a "Classic Lighting mode," which Rockstar said at the time "restores the look and feel of the sky in the original games."
It took the better part of a year but that mode has finally made its way to the PC version of the GTA Trilogy, and console editions too if that's your thing. Today's update also makes "numerous fixes and improvements" to the game, and I wish I could tell you more but that is literally the entirety of the patch notes:
Despite that brevity, the list of changes appears substantial. Rockstar follower BeskInfinity ran down a number of highlights on X, including the ability to pause during cutscenes, fixes to running animations while aiming, properly functioning shadows, and the ability to fire shotguns, assault rifles, and flame throwers while running, which wasn't possible previously.
And of course that sweet new (for us) eye candy:
I can't believe I'm saying this but with the new Classic Lightning and the GTA Trilogy DE Patch I'm on Vice City and it looks absolutely gorgeous. pic.twitter.com/EjI4YRqE07November 12, 2024
It's neither perfect nor complete—BeskInfinity called the update "a step in the right direction but still not enough"—but the general consensus on Reddit and Resetera era is that it's a major (and long overdue) improvement to games that seemed destined to be left in a deeply flawed state.
Also interesting is the apparent removal of Grove Street Games from the GTA Trilogy splash screens. Grove Street is the studio that ported the games in the trilogy to Unreal Engine, and took the heat for botching the job so badly. It's presumably still listed in the game credits (I haven't been able to confirm at this point but it would be a pretty big controversy if not) but it sure looks like there's some distancing going on.
One other thing to note, because with the good news must come some bad: According to GTAonlineNews, the update has broken the GTA Trilogy on Steam Deck. Unlike GTA Online, though, which recently lost compatibility due to the addition of BattlEye anticheat, this can be fixed by adding "-dx12" (without the quotes) as a launch option.
I've reached out to Rockstar to see if I can get more details on the changes in this update, and whether further patches are planned (although that may not be likely, given the current focus on Grand Theft Auto 6), and will update if I receive a reply.