GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition became one of the biggest disasters in Grand Theft Auto history when it launched in 2021 with a huge number of technical problems. Grove Street Games remained largely silent about the controversy for years, but its CEO has now admitted that he agreed with most of the community’s criticism.

GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition launched in 2021 and immediately triggered major backlash. The three remastered games were filled with bugs, broken lighting, distorted character models, missing music, and many other technical issues that damaged the experience. Grove Street Games, the studio responsible for the project, consequently received an enormous wave of criticism in the months after release. The team then remained silent for several years, only speaking publicly when Rockstar removed the studio’s name from the games’ launch screens. At the time, Grove Street Games described that decision as “an underhanded move.”

Grove Street Games Engages in Self-Criticism Over GTA Trilogy

Rockstar also bears some responsibility for what happened, as it failed to intervene and properly oversee the project before release. The studio that ultimately fixed the trilogy was not Grove Street Games, but Video Games Deluxe, now known as Rockstar Games Australia. That team first repaired the mobile versions released through Netflix, before later bringing those improvements and lighting corrections to the PC and console editions.

Against this background, Grove Street Games CEO Thomas Williamson has now broken his silence in an interview with Wccftech. The executive openly acknowledged that the reaction from players was largely justified. “Regarding GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition, I agreed with most people’s reactions,” he said. Williamson added that this was probably the most he could personally reveal about how the studio felt about the version that was released and what it had originally intended to deliver.

“That’s probably the most I can personally say about how we felt about what came out and what our intentions were,” the CEO acknowledged. However, he clarified that the studio disagreed both with the way the game was released and with how the development team handled the backlash. According to Williamson, a different response could have “significantly changed the narrative.” He also stressed that, despite the problems, “there were a lot of people playing them and really enjoying them.”

The head of Grove Street Games said all three titles remain major milestones in video game history. “We all see these games as truly important milestones in video game history, so I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work on them,” he explained. Williamson also emphasized that GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition was not a commercial failure, having sold more than 30 million copies to date. He concluded with one more thought: “If the team at Rockstar North were to take on a proper remaster and do something crazy, it would be incredible.”

Source: 3DJuegos