The GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition may be one of the only examples of mobile winning over PC and console. But not anymore.

Rockstar Games has finally updated the GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition on PC and consoles with features previously exclusive to its mobile port. The update introduces the Classic Lighting mode, restoring the original games’ vibrant lighting and visual clarity. But why were they exclusive to mobile?

Only took a year for a mobile feature to be ported. | Image Credit: Rockstar Games

Released in 2021, the remastered trilogy faced widespread criticism for its bugs, poor graphics, and lack of features compared to the original titles. The mobile version was a lot better but it’s taken Rockstar a whole year to bring these upgrades over to PC and console.

The GTA Trilogy Just Became Truly Definitive

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When Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition launched on consoles and PC, fans were excited to revisit iconic titles like GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas. But upon release, players were shocked by its subpar graphics, broken animations, and poor performance.

To make matters worse, when the trilogy was ported to mobile devices last December, the mobile version came with some big visual upgrades.

These included the Classic Lighting mode, better shadows, and improved reflections, which were missing from the PC and console editions.

The backlash was intense, with many fans feeling that the so-called “Definitive Edition” was anything but.

While the mobile versions, released in December 2023, successfully addressed many of these issues, it’s taken Rockstar nearly a year to transfer these improvements to the console and PC versions.

The #GTA Definitive Editions just got an update which added the classic lighting option.

Not gonna lie, it actually looks nice on a screen bigger than a phone.

I’ll test now to see if the same problems still exist with it though like they did on mobile a year ago… pic.twitter.com/Qv5J68hYos

— TJGM (@TJGM_) November 12, 2024

The Classic Lighting mode was a major feature requested by fans, restoring the original sky and lighting effects that were missing in the Definitive Edition. The mode is now available on all platforms, with the setting turned on by default.

PC and Console Rise Back To The Top Again

Image Credit: Rockstar Games

These updates come after a particularly harsh three-year period for the GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition on consoles and PC. Rockstar’s initial apology in 2021 and subsequent attempts at patching the games did little to placate fans since the bugs stayed.

Grove Street Games, the developers behind the original PC and console remasters were notably absent from this update, with all mentions of the studio removed.

Grove Street Games, named after the iconic street in San Andreas, was heavily criticized following the Definitive Edition’s release for its handling of the remasters.

Following the studio’s departure from the project, Video Games Deluxe, the team behind the L.A. Noire VR Case Files, took on the mobile ports and now seems to have inspired many of the updates coming to other platforms.

Despite this, the legacy of the GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition remains mixed. The disastrous 2021 launch prompted numerous refunds, and Rockstar had to pull the game from online stores temporarily to fix even more bugs.

These upgrades could bring more attention to Definitive Edition and encourage new players to give it a try. With GTA 6 expected to launch in 2025, Rockstar appears to be making one final effort to satisfy the trilogy’s fans before shifting its focus entirely to the next entry in the franchise.

Will you give the Definitive Edition another try with this new update? Let us know in the comments!