Grand Theft Auto 3: The Definitive Edition has returned to the PS Plus service with several improvements. The game is part of the GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition bundle, which features remastered versions of three of the franchise's most iconic titles. This marks the second time some PlayStation players can access GTA 3: The Definitive Edition for free, following its original debut on the now-discontinued PlayStation Now service in 2021. However, reception has been much more positive this time, despite the game previously being labeled by many as the "worst version."
Sony recently added GTA 3: The Definitive Edition to PS Plus Extra to celebrate Days of Play. Alongside Rockstar's iconic open-world title, three other games were added to the subscription with the very same celebratory purpose: Another Crab's Treasure, Skull and Bones, and Destiny 2: Legacy Collection.
One Grand Theft Auto Game Needs the Remaster Treatment Now More than Ever
As Rockstar prepares to roll out Grand Theft Auto 6, it's long past time that it pushes out a remaster for another entry in the series.
Many fans now argue that GTA 3: The Definitive Edition is finally worth giving a shot. When it first launched on the PS Now subscription, a wave of players criticized Rockstar for ruining the original experience. However, it seems GTA: The Trilogy's surprise major update in November 2024 has paid off. Now that the game is free again for some PlayStation Plus members, positive feedback is steadily growing, and the fanbase appears much more satisfied with the current version.
Rockstar Has Seemingly Saved the GTA Trilogy
Several PlayStation Plus Extra members on Reddit have shared their excitement over GTA 3: The Definitive Edition's updated visuals and performance. Many seem pleased that the game's lighting now resembles the original style and that most of its bugs and glitches have been resolved. These changes were all part of the November 2024 update, which enhanced all three games in the Definitive Edition bundle. In fact, before the recent wave of praise for GTA 3, San Andreas: The Definitive Edition saw a spike in players following the same patch, another clear sign that Rockstar's efforts to improve GTA: The Trilogy is paying off.
GTA 3: The Definitive Edition has been available on the PS Plus Extra subscription since June 10 for both PS5 and PS4 users. And the game will likely remain part of the subscription for quite some time. PlayStation fans may also be excited to know that the rest of June's PS Plus Extra lineup is shaping up to be strong, with titles like FBC: Firebreak and Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 set to join the catalog soon.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 54 /100 Critics Rec: 12%
- Released
- November 11, 2021
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Grove Street Games
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Engine
- unreal engine 4, unreal engine
- Franchise
- Grand Theft Auto
WHERE TO PLAY
Three iconic cities, three epic stories. Play the genre-defining classics of the original Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas updated for a new generation, now with across-the-board enhancements including brilliant new lighting and environmental upgrades, high-resolution textures, increased draw distances, Grand Theft Auto V-style controls and targeting, and much more, bringing these beloved worlds to life with all new levels of detail.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition includes:
Grand Theft Auto III: It all starts in Liberty City. With the revolutionary freedom to go anywhere and jack anyone, Grand Theft Auto III puts the center of the criminal underworld at your fingertips, if you have enough guts to take it.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: Welcome to the 1980s. From the decade of big hair and pastel suits comes the story of one man's rise to the top of the criminal pile. Grand Theft Auto returns with Tommy Vercetti’s tale of betrayal and revenge in a neon-soaked tropical town full of excess and brimming with possibilities.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: Five years ago, Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson escaped the haze of Los Santos, San Andreas...a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs, and corruption. Now, it's the early 90s. CJ’s got to go home - his mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart, and his childhood friends are all heading towards disaster. On his return to the neighborhood, a couple of cops frame him for homicide, forcing CJ on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets in the next iteration of the series that changed everything.
