Rockstar has delayed the physical release for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
As shared by the studio on Twitter (below), Rockstar has announced that is delaying the physical release for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy to multiple different dates. While that change now means that the game will release on Xbox consoles and PS4 on December 17 (a ten-day delay), it's worse news for Switch fans, where the game now won't be available physically until early 2022.
The release dates for the physical versions of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition have changed.
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) November 30, 2021
Xbox Series X / Xbox One and PS4 will now release on December 17. The Nintendo Switch version is coming in early 2022.
Check your local retailer for availability. pic.twitter.com/6avP8yp6la
The delay of the physical versions of the game follows a turbulent digital release for remasters of the iconic trio. Following their release, fans jumping into the three games included in the remastered bundle (GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas) have reported various issues including initial problems with the game launching on PC as well as a torrent of visual bugs and performance issues across a number of platforms.
Upon release, IGN reviewed Rockstar's remastered trilogy awarding it a disappointing 5/10. "There’s no question that the three games in this GTA Trilogy are all-time classics, but they’ve unfortunately been remastered with a ham-hand instead of a Love Fist," reads our verdict.
"New features are slight and only partially implemented, visuals are mixed, performance is inconsistent at best, some content is missing, and bugs and glitches abound. In its existing state, this collection of three classic GTA games is far from being considered definitive; it’s defective, disappointing, and surprisingly disrespectful to both the legacy of the games themselves and their many legions of fans."
Since the title's initial launch, Rockstar has released updates for all three games, fixing some of the more prominent issues such as the remasters' infamous rain effect, a number of typos that were spotted by players throughout the three games, and texture corruption in San Andreas. In addition to the game's first major patch, Rockstar has also apologized to fans on its website over the state of the game's launch.
"Firstly, we want to sincerely apologize to everyone who has encountered issues playing these games," reads a statement from the company.
"The Grand Theft Auto series — and the games that make up this iconic trilogy — are as special to us as we know they are to fans around the world. The updated versions of these classic games did not launch in a state that meets our own standards of quality, or the standards our fans have come to expect," the statement continues before discussing its plans to address issues with the games.
For more on the GTA Trilogy, make sure to check out this article detailing fans' responses to a number of the updates carried out by the studio since launch.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
