Rockstar says sorry for quality GTA remasters and puts back original versions
Rockstar has apologized for the “unexpected technical issues” associated with the recently released GTA remasters. The publisher promises improvements and will put the classic versions back online, but only through its own launcher.
“The updated versions of the classic GTA games have been released in a condition that does not meet our own quality standards, or the standards our fans expect,” Rockstar wrote. The company apologizes to players for this. However, the publisher also claims that the problems were unexpected, according to the introduction to the message.
Rockstar promises to address technical issues and improve the three GTA remasters, but concrete details are not yet known. “With each scheduled update, the games will reach the level they deserve,” the company wrote. The three separate remasters will receive an update ‘in the coming days’.
Rockstar also speaks out against gamers who harass developers of the company on social media. The company “kindly requests the community” to “have a respectful and civil conversation” about the games “while the issues are resolved.”
Before the release of the GTA remasters, Rockstar pulled the original versions of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from digital stores. The publisher now says these will be made available again shortly, but only through the Rockstar Launcher. All gamers who bought the PC version of the GTA Remasters bundle or who buy it before June 30, 2022 will get the classic versions for free.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Remaster
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition was released on November 11 for consoles and PC. Rockstar has outsourced the development of the GTA remasters to Grove Street Games. That studio was also responsible for the earlier mobile versions of the trilogy. Since the release, there are many problems with the games. On all platforms, it contains many bugs and performance is poor. Also, the Rockstar Launcher was offline for days after its release.
Digital Foundry wrote in an extensive analysis of the GTA III remaster that the game contains numerous issues that are “both hilarious and disappointing.” According to the site, it is not credible that the remaster has been properly tested before release. ‘The end result is simply not good enough’, the site concludes. In addition to reviewers, gamers are also extremely critical of the release. The PC version has a score of 0.5 points from users on Metacritic.