Ever since Rockstar confirmed that Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy was being re-released for current consoles and PCs, fans have been speculating over whether we’re getting a hands-off remaster (like Mario 3D All Stars), or a complete graphical overhaul (like Final Fantasy VII).
The lack of screenshots in the trailer suggested bad news for fans wanting a full remake, and now alleged PC system requirements seem to confirm this pessimism was well placed.
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According to a forum post shared by GTA News, the minimum and recommended system requirements are hardly cutting-edge.
BREAKING: GTA Trilogy's PC specifications requirements discovered by @alloc8or on @GTANet https://t.co/EcX6YKSq9e pic.twitter.com/gH4SbKWtdfOctober 15, 2021
Alleged minimum specs:
- CPU: Intel Core i5-2700K or AMD FX-6300
- RAM: 8GB
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 2GB or AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB
Alleged recommended specs:
- CPU: Intel Core i7-6600K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- RAM: 16GB
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB or AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
Both list 45GB hard disk space required, which presumably encompasses all three titles.
In short, these requirements aren’t particularly taxing by modern standards, and nor does it look like the game will have a new and intensive physics engine pushing computational power if it works on processors pushing a decade old. The minimum GPUs required aren’t that much newer, having debuted in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
The game is rumored to be rebuilt in Unreal Engine 4, and the relatively high RAM requirements do at least point to improved models and high-resolution textures. Hopefully the draw distance will be considerably upped on the originals, too.
This matches up with a heavily upvoted post on the Gaming Leaks and Rumors subreddit, which claims — with no proof, mind you — that “the games are going to largely look the same as they did back in the 2000s.” You can allegedly expect upscaled textures, dynamic lighting and faces that “look less like triangles.” It sounds like it may suffer a bit from the problem LA Noire had too, with “weirdly decent facial animations [that] don't fit the low poly models.”
The whole post is worth reading, though do have an unhealthy amount of salt to hand, as it’s completely unverified. It will be pretty easy to check after release, though, as the post claims that an “xmas” cheat code will cover all of Liberty City in snow, which is an oddly specific claim for somebody trying to fool folks on the internet.
It’s the gameplay that counts
I’m actually quite relaxed about this. Total remakes are stunning achievements in their own right and offer a great intro to newcomers, but can lose a lot of the charm for people who grew up on the original.
I’m old enough to pre-date these now-retro titles, playing the original top-down 2D Grand Theft Auto games on PC before the series became world conquering. It’s often said that the best remasters are the ones that look like you remember them looking, rather than what they actually looked like, and that’s certainly something I subscribe to.
And ultimately, it’s the gameplay that made the first 3D GTA games so influential. If Rockstar has managed to capture the addictiveness while making them feel less dated in the way they play, then it will feel like a result to me.
Plus, improved graphics aren’t the only measure of fan service. A leaked achievement list suggests that Rockstar has thought about what fans want to see, with trophies nodding to memes, known game exploits and the community’s in-jokes.
To me, it sounds like Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas will be perfectly nice places to visit, even if they don’t have the wow factor they had at the turn of the century.
