GTA Remasters ‘Would Be More Than A Simple Port,’ Says Take-Two

Take-Two Interactive has discussed how it intends to remaster its games in the future, giving hope to fans looking for remasters of the GTA series.

gta 3
Credit: Rockstar Games

The parent company of Rockstar shared its ambitions at a recent Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference [via VGC]. The publisher’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, was asked if remasters would be a bigger part of the company’s strategy, which prompted the following statement:

I’m not sure there’ll be a bigger part of the strategy. Remastering has always been a part of the strategy. We’ve done differently than the competition – we don’t just port titles over, we actually take the time to do the very best job we can making the title different for the new release, for the new technology that we’re launching it on. So, we improve the technology, we upgrade the visuals, and we make performance enhancements. And that’s why I think our remastered titles typically do so well.

gta 3
Credit: Rockstar Games

The statement comes amid rumours that Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City remasters are on the way. There’s a thin line between a “remaster” and a “remake”. Take-Two’s take on remastering sounds like it could be both, especially since it’s ruled out straight-up ports.

Zelnick went on to express his confidence in the upcoming GTA V “remaster” for PS5, citing other successful examples from the company:

We’ve done great with the Mafia series, for example, and Grand Theft Auto [V] is now heading into its third generation which is incredible. It was a standard-bearer when it was launched, it continued to be the standard-bearer in the second generation, we’ll see how Grand Theft Auto does in the next generation. Obviously, I’m confident that Rockstar is going to deliver just a great experience, but you can’t do that if you’re just doing a simple port.

gta vice city
Credit: Rockstar Games

While Zelnick appears to be focused on modern titles like GTA 5, these principles likely also apply to legacy remasters. Rockstar has made straight-up ports of classic games before, so nothing has stopped them from doing the same now, other than Take-Two’s current aversion to them. Take-Two’s new strategical insight suggests that if we do get any Rockstar remasters, they’re going to be more elaborate than your average port. 

gta vice city image
Credit: Rockstar Games

Rockstar hasn’t announced plans to remaster any of its GTA back catalogue, but if the rumours are true, they’re coming before Grand Theft Auto 6.

Take-Two recently shot down a project that reverse-engineered GTA 3 and Vice City’s code, allowing for the games to be modernised by modders. Perhaps the DIY project drifted too close to home for Rockstar, something that could take away the hype from whatever it’s secretly working on.

Can’t wait for more GTA? You can currently grab Grand Theft Auto 5 at the GameByte Shop!

Featured Image Credit: Rockstar Games