After 3 years, GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition receives update and improves one of its most criticized aspects; Rockstar has already optimized its controversial release

The release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition sparked excitement among Rockstar Games fans, as it allows them to relive three of the franchise’s best entries: GTA III, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas. However, it turned out to be one of the studio’s most disappointing projects, debuting with multiple issues and changes that players didn’t appreciate.

The collection faced harsh criticism on social media and forums, as the community felt the title didn’t do justice to the classics it included. For that reason, the community raised their voices to demand adjustments and improvements in aspects such as lighting, rain effects, technical elements, and other details.

Rockstar remained silent for 3 years, but fortunately, they were working on optimizations for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition. Recently, they released an update that includes improvements highly requested by the community.

Rockstar improved the lighting in GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition

One of the most criticized aspects of GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition was its lighting. Players felt that Rockstar’s adjustments took away part of the games' original identity. Last year, the trilogy arrived on Netflix with a new classic lighting option; however, it wasn’t added to the console and PC ports.

This recently changed, as the new update adds the option to PlayStation and Xbox systems, as well as to the PC version available on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Rockstar's launcher. According to Rockstar, the new option "restores the sky’s original appearance in the classic games," making the game worlds look just as players remember them from years ago.

Thanks to Rockstar Intel, we can see a comparison image with the option on and off. It’s also important to mention that the update includes other improvements that we’ll discuss further below:

What other improvements did GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition receive?

Players discovered that the lighting adjustments aren’t the only improvements made to the game. Rockstar restored environmental clouds in the sky and reintroduced fog. Additionally, the protagonists now have optimized animations, and issues related to water and swimming were fixed.

As a bonus, players can now fire assault rifles, shotguns, and flamethrowers while running in GTA III and GTA: Vice City. Running, aiming, and street light animations were also improved. For now, it’s unknown if Rockstar plans other optimizations for the collection.