GTA Definitive Edition devs weren’t removed from Rockstar’s trilogy, actually

The latest GTA Definitive Edition update is easily the game’s most important patch yet, restoring the original aesthetic of each entry to its former glory. While the update is a welcome improvement for Rockstar Games’ iconic trilogy, a first glance at it gives the impression that someone scrubbed developer Grove Street Games from the game’s credits completely, prompting CEO Thomas Williamson to share their thoughts.

However, they may have done so prematurely. In a recent post on social media, Williamson addresses the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy Definitive Edition update, expressing that “it’s a dick move to remove primary developers from credits in an update, especially when an update includes hundreds of fixes that were provided by those developers that stayed out of players’ hands for years.” While Williamson adds that he is speaking “hypothetically”, it’s easy to put the pieces together and associate who he is taking aim at. Yet, Grove Street Games’ name lives on in the open-world game trilogy.

While the developer isn’t present on the game’s splash screen, which appears after you boot up any title in the collection, Grove Street Games is still present in the full cast and crew credits across the trilogy. This was pointed out by prominent Rockstar Games enthusiast account ‘GTANet’, who says that the rumors of Grove Street Games’ removal are completely “unfounded.”

The recent GTA Definitive Edition update is gaining praise for adding a classic lighting feature, giving each game a visual makeover akin to their sixth-generation counterparts – albeit with some modern-day sheen. Grove Street Games was the target of heavy criticism when the collection debuted in 2021, citing numerous glitches and inconsistencies that marred the overall experience.

Although Pocket Tactics’ Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy Definition Edition review was exceptionally critical of the release at the time, I’ve personally warmed to these iterations over time, especially Vice City.

While Grove Street Games’ involvement with future Rockstar Games projects seems reduced, I’d be eager to see whether Video Games Deluxe or Red Dead Redemption port studio Double Eleven are working on any other Grand Theft Auto remasters. A new version of GTA 4 on the Nintendo Switch 2 certainly wouldn’t hurt.

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