GTA Trilogy’s mobile port has been delayed – and that’s a good thing

CJ walking from a car in the GTA Trilogy
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

In its latest financial earnings report, GTA owner Take-Two suggested the upcoming mobile port of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive edition has been delayed.

The anthology title, which collects remastered versions of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas in a single bundle, was originally released late last year. It dropped on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, as well as last-gen consoles. Rockstar announced it'd be coming to iOS and Android devices in the first half of 2022. 

But a new financial document now lists the game as scheduled to launch during the 2023 fiscal year, delaying its release to as late as April 2023 (thanks, VGC). Rockstar needs to launch the game next month to hit its original launch window. Given that we’ve seen no pre-release marketing material over the last couple of weeks, we don’t expect that’s going to happen.

A welcome delay

Several characters from GTA Vice City on a luxurious staircase

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

It looks likely that the GTA Trilogy’s mobile port will launch later than Rockstar had initially expected, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When the game launched last year it was lambasted by critics and players alike. 

A score of technical glitches undermined the game’s performance across systems, while several stability bugs caused the game to frequently crash in its early builds. Its artistic direction also raised a few eyebrows, with character models redrawn and several classic locations remodeled. But while the changes were in keeping with the stylized exaggeration of the original games, they took the collection in a visual direction many fans weren’t happy with.

Rockstar’s decision to pull the original games from online storefronts only exacerbated the bitterness of fans. Not only had they been served a collection that was technically flawed and artistically strange, but purists couldn’t even purchase the original versions to play instead. Rockstar was eventually forced to backtrack, offering disappointed players a free game as compensation, and even apologizing for the poor state of the release.

Four months after the trilogy’s release, Rockstar released a hefty update that drastically improved the games’ performance. It resolved numerous bugs and introduced a handful of stability improvements, finally addressing the most egregious technical faults that had littered the game since launch.

In light of those launch problems, the delay of the GTA Trilogoy’s mobile port shouldn’t be quite so dispiriting. That Rockstar is taking extra time to develop the title is a good indication that the collection will release in a much better state on mobile than it did on console and PC. Be thankful, then, that when you return to Grove Street on your tablet, you’ll probably be able to do so smoothly. 

Rockstar might not totally care, though. The Trilogy was a huge commercial success despite its litany of glitches and technical issues.

It’s probably healthy to take a similar perspective to other development projects, too. Bethesda recently delayed Starfield, announcing the much-anticipated sci-fi RPG will now be hitting shelves in 2023 rather than this November. Excited fans will be disappointed they have to wait several more months to get their hands on the game, but at least they’ll have some time to think about what they actually want from it

Callum Bains
Gaming News Writer

Callum is TechRadar Gaming’s News Writer. You’ll find him whipping up stories about all the latest happenings in the gaming world, as well as penning the odd feature and review. Before coming to TechRadar, he wrote freelance for various sites, including Clash, The Telegraph, and Gamesindustry.biz, and worked as a Staff Writer at Wargamer. Strategy games and RPGs are his bread and butter, but he’ll eat anything that spins a captivating narrative. He also loves tabletop games, and will happily chew your ear off about TTRPGs and board games. 

Read more
GTA 6
Take-Two reaffirms that GTA 6 will launch in 2025, so there's no need to worry about a delay for now
Image of Grand Theft Auto 6 promotional art and Corsair's PC cases
GTA 6 could reach PCs in early 2026 according to Corsair – but I'm already sick of waiting
Image of GTA 6 protagonists and PS5
GTA 6's console-only launch reminds me of how much I despise console exclusivity - is it worth waiting years for PC ports?
Lucia and her partner sat on the bonnet of a car in the GTA 6 key art
GTA 6 - everything we know so far
GTA 6
You might not have to wait long for GTA 6 on PC as Take-Two CEO teases port
An armed man walks away from a muscle car
Rockstar acquires studio behind Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition upgrades and L.A. Noire re-releases
Latest in Mobile Gaming
Asus ROG Ally on blue background with lowest price text overlay
The Asus ROG Ally model I'd recommend to most people is back to a record-low price
Driver 3 being played on the AyaNeo Pocket Micro.
Ayaneo Pocket Micro review: a tiny Android tablet ideal for emulation
The Epic Games Store for iOS and Android.
Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe, and Fall Guys are available on mobile as the Epic Games Store launches for iOS in the EU and for Android worldwide
Key art for Age of Empires Mobile.
Age of Empires Mobile first in-game footage revealed, pre-registration open now
Two soldiers preparing for battle in the new Halo Infinite winter update
Xbox exploring launching its own mobile gaming store, Phil Spencer reveals
Hades
Award-winning roguelike Hades to release on iOS via Netflix Games next year
Latest in News
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough
Brad Pitt looks over his right shoulder with 'F1' written behind him
Apple Original Films will take you behind-the-scenes of a racing cockpit in this new thrilling F1 movie trailer
AI writer
Coding AI tells developer to write it himself
Reacher looking down at another character from the Prime Video TV series Reacher
Reacher season 3 becomes Prime Video’s biggest returning show thanks to Hollywood’s biggest heavyweight
Finger Presses Orange Button Domain Name Registration on Black Keyboard Background. Closeup View
I visited the world’s first registered .com domain – and you won’t believe what it’s offering today
Image showing detail of the Leica D-Lux 8
Still can't get a Fujifilm X100VI? This premium Leica compact costs less, and it's in stock