Rockstar Games has responded to the Definitive Edition's shambolic state by offering free copies of the original versions to people who purchased them.

Insiders have been speculating about updated versions of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for months, with bits of information on cosmetic and technical enhancements. The studio formally unveiled Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition in October, setting the Internet ablaze.

It should have been a definite hit, with "across-the-board updates including beautiful new lighting and environmental upgrades, high-resolution textures, greater draw distances," as well as Grand Theft Auto V-style additions. Nonetheless, screenshots of noodley NPCs, terrifying first-person perspective problems, catapulting cars, and magical cops were quickly shared on social media.

Rockstar Games decided to remove the Definitive Edition from its own launcher due to the difficulty of dealing with multiple refund requests from players. It's not a great look. "We want to express our heartfelt apologies to everyone who has had troubles while playing these games," the company stated in a statement. "The revamped versions of these classic games did not launch in a form that fulfills our own quality standards, let alone the expectations of our fans."
It's good to hear that Rockstar Games has a plan in place to fix the problems with Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It was also noted that the company was aware that players were disappointed to find that the original versions of the games would be phased out following the remasters' release.

"While one of the goals of the Definitive Editions was to allow gamers to enjoy these games on modern platforms for many years to come," Rockstar Games added.

"The vintage PC editions of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be added to the Rockstar Store as a bundle in the near future." Additionally, through June 30, 2022, anyone who purchased Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition for PC from the Rockstar Store will receive these classic versions for free in their Rockstar Games Launcher library," the business explained.