GTA: Remastered Trilogy is Reportedly Modified Mobile Ports

A long-rumored release of Grand Theft Auto: Remastered Trilogy was announced last month by developer/publisher Rockstar Games for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S platforms earlier.

A hacker recently discovered that GTA Trilogy has code for touchscreen controls hidden within in-game files, which leads to a theory that Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition is actually a modified version of GTA mobile.

Known hacker Vadim M. has recently shared information regarding GTA: Remastered Trilogy on social media, claiming these alleged remastered versions are actually highly modified GTA ports for mobile devices featuring touch controls.

Vadim suggests that there is still a widget for touchscreen controls in Definitive Edition's code that lets you choose from analog, button or flick controls, similar to an accessibility setting for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on mobiles.

Grand Theft Auto hacker Vadim M. shares images of touchscreen controls in GTA Trilogy, also found in mobile.

lol. Here is another confirmation that we are playing highly modified mobile ports. There is still this widget left in the code, which asks you to choose touch controls. pic.twitter.com/DNelvQ1lKY

— Vadim M. (@NationalPepper) November 26, 2021

Rockstar has previously tasked Florida-based developer studio Grove Street Games to work on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, followed by mobile and PC ports, all of which were a broken mess.

Overall experience for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition was so awful, Rockstar had to apologize to players. Even before launch, series fans were expressing concerns for Grove Street Games to develop these remasters.

After official announcement, Rockstar showed no gameplay for Grand Theft Auto: Remastered Trilogy except for a few screenshots. Nevertheless, they promised graphical enhancements and improvements for classic GTA Trilogy titles.

When a gameplay footage was leaked online ahead of release, people were quick to criticize its visual quality similar to mobile ports. Those claims seem more valid now upon recent finding of mobile touchscreen controls in GTA Trilogy.

Finding hidden touchscreen controls for GTA: Remastered Trilogy is one of many blunders that Rockstar made and it appears that despite having a troubled work history, they allowed Grove Streets Games to handle GTA Trilogy games.

Rockstar Games mostly remained quiet during ongoing fan-backlash for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition and promises to address issues through future updates but has not offered any explanation for a messy release.