All GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition known updates and patch notes explained

Grand Theft Auto games are iconic, regardless of the era you grew up with. While GTA 5 is no doubt one of the most successful games of all time, that’s largely thanks to the success of GTA San Andreas, Vice City, and 3. However, all three games have now been extremely dated thanks to how old they are.

Fortunately, Rockstar Games realized the potential of the three games in modern consoles and decided to release a remastered version. Unfortunately, the legendary studio didn’t develop the named GTA Trilogy itself and instead outsourced them to a sub-studio called Grove Street Games.

GTA Trilogy ended up being a terrible flop, both commercially and among fans. Now, it seems like Rockstar wants to rectify its mistake by releasing a major update that fixes various things in the game. However, Rockstar didn’t release complete patch notes so we’re here after some testing to tell you every change you can expect from the newly-updated GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition.

Why was GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition a failure?

Before anything, it’s crucial to understand why GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition was a failure. After all, the job is just to port three legendary games to modern consoles with higher visuals, right? Well, while Rockstar did do this with the Red Dead Redemption remaster, it didn’t do the same with this trilogy.

On the contrary, various characters and building models were changed to give a very cartoonish look. Additionally, the games were riddled with bugs and graphical glitches that not even the 2-decade-old games had. It’s important to understand that the natural lighting of the vanilla titles is what makes them so appealing and nostalgic for fans, though it was largely removed in the trilogy.

Perhaps the most important reason the GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition was a failure, however, was the $60 price tag on it. Remasters usually don’t cost nearly as much as the original product, especially when the studio has barely made any positive changes to the game.

Rockstar slapping a $60 price tag on a half-baked remaster made it feel like the studio was simply going for a blatant cash grab. That would have been good and all, but the cash grab was at the expense of long-time fans who wanted to reexperience their favorite games, and that didn’t sit well with most.

What did the GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition update add?

With the remaster’s failure cleared up, it’s time to answer what most fans were wondering from the start, which is how Rockstar rectified its mistake. Well, almost three years after its initial release, the GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition came out with a silent update.

While we’ll go through the complete patch notes shortly, we want to highlight some of the biggest changes that came with this update. The first is that the classic lighting effect has been added to the game. Players can enable this effect at any time to recreate the nostalgic look of the original three games. Swimming, something many fans didn’t like the animation of in GTA San Andreas, has already received some movement changes to make things more natural.

Naturally, all three games also received major graphical overhauls. These changes fix various bugs and glitches that the games had and were being memed for. Fans wonder if this update coming so soon after the Red Dead Redemption remaster and shortly before the GTA 5 enhanced PC upgrade and GTA 6 release is a coincidence. Maybe the studio wants to fix its reputation before GTA 6 comes out because the Red Dead Redemption remaster didn’t perform as well as the studio anticipated.

Complete GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition update patch notes

With everything being said and done, below are the complete patch notes for the GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition update that came out in November 2024. We decided to separate all notes by games to make digesting everything easier, though Rockstar hasn’t released official patch notes so we may miss something.

Changes for all three games

• A new Classic Mode has been added which restores the original look and feel of the original games
• Birds have returned for all three games
• Cutscenes can now be paused as a quality-of-life feature
• Improved Character movement and gunplay movement across all three games
• Optimisation has been improved on PC to improve performance
• Grove Street Games branding was removed from the disclaimer screen and Rockstar Branding has been added
• Shadows now render in real time and don’t shift in chunks
• Reflections no longer use Unreal Engine SSR, and instead now use Cube map reflections
• Game performance and FPS improvements across current-gen consoles
• A few 3D interiors have been removed
• Fixed 3D interiors that stretched when players viewed them up close
• Visual quality on the Nintendo Switch has been improved to look similar to the original game when Classic Mode has been enabled

Gta 3-exclusive fixes

• The Shoreside Vale garage doors now open correctly on three sides instead of the original’s incorrect direction
• Staunton Island now displays on the in-game map correctly
• Pistol sound effects have been improved
• Rain-pouring sound effects have been improved
• The handling of Shotguns & Assault Rifles whilst the player is moving improved has been fixed
• Fixed spelling mistakes that were shown at Eight Balls Autoyard
• The Happy Blimp sign now doesn’t stand out and its textures have been changed to match the rest of the world
• A number of Garage doors have had an improved redesign texture
• The McAdam Airways sign now has an improved high-resolution redesign
• Fixed spelling mistakes on the Pay N’ Spray signs
• Fixed an issue where garage doors would keep repeating a sound effect when the player was leaving or entering
• ZIP brand signs now have an improved high-resolution redesign
• Fixed an issue where certain islands wouldn’t appear on the in-game map
• Fixed an issue where players could visit islands during early story progression without unlocking them
• Fixes have been made to incorrect texture UVs across roads around Liberty City
• Fixed tree blocking the view of “You weren’t supposed to be here” easter egg sign
• Fixed Spelling mistakes on the PetStuffers signage
• Fixed the issue where textures appeared across apartment buildings with poor UVs and low-resolution assets
• Removed a distracting puddle near the safehouse

GTA Vice City-exclusive fixes

• The neon lights from the original PS2 version of the Malibu Club and filling stations have been restored
• Fixed incorrect island positions in the map UI
• Fixed an issue in which a large moon was appearing in the opening cutscene at the start of the game
• Fixed a graphical error that made tire smoke appear black
• Fixed an issue with Les Cargo having missing collisions
• Fixed the neon light color at Rafael’s
• The Comet vehicle now looks more like the original version
• A new freezing smoke effect now emits from the freezer during the cutscene with Sonny Forelli in the opening cutscene of the game
• Bushes have been added along Ocean Drive like in the original game
• Fixed an issue with the suspension vehicle height
• Fixed spelling mistakes with the Ammu–Nation sign
• Fixed an issue with road lines being visible in incorrect corners
• Fixed spelling mistakes with the Rvec Moi Holidays signage
• lighting conditions for the Ocean Drive Hotel have been improved and light props have been added at the hotel entrance

GTA San Andreas-exclusive changes

• The original weather and lighting presets for all three Cities have been restored
• CJ no longer incorrectly drinks a can of Spunk from vending machines
• Crouching, motorbike use, and swimming animations have been improved
• Fixed a glitch that made CJ swim way too fast
• Improved lighting conditions for missions
• Fixed an issue where music wasn’t playing in Nightclubs
• The signage has been updated with high-resolution assets
• Fixed transparency issues on Grove Street Bridge’s holes
• Fire effects have been updated and improved
• Fixed an issue where Sandstorm effects weren’t working correctly
• Fixed an issue with the Cluckin’ Bell prop not moving
• Love Fist’s logo has been improved with a redesigned high-resolution asset
• Better effects for breakable props
• Improved flight gameplay visuals with clouds from the original San Andreas game
• Fixed an issue with street lights reflecting white and not orange
• Improved aiming reticule to display health
• Fixed an issue in which the crash icon wouldn’t appear at all
• Oil rigs now work instead of being static
• Officer Tenpenny’s police badge has been updated
• Fire engines can now put out fires
• The Sphinx Face now has the correct color
• CJ’s robbery mask has been updated with a high-resolution asset
• Fixed a graphical error with punching bags in gyms
• Multiple doors, windows, and building textures have been redesigned & updated
• Fixed an issue where the hanger doors at Las Venturas Airport were positioned incorrectly
• Mouth animations in cutscenes have been improved
• Fixed an issue where the rainbows didn’t appear
• Texturing for San Fierro’s bridge updated
• Multiple buildings in Las Venturas received new texturing improvements
• The V Rock building receives new texturing improvements
• CJ’s cowboy boots are now darker
• CJ’s pant textures have been updated with a high-resolution asset
• Adjustments made to CJ’s face texture and his shoes
• Claude character model in “Farewell, My Love” improved
• CJ will now jump into water correctly without floating
• Red Country is more optimized and performance-friendly