In a massive surprise that absolutely nobody saw coming, Rockstar Games has delivered an utterly shocking announcement that they are remastering Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City and San Andreas and will release them as Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition later this year.

Who could have guessed?

Announced on the Newswire with some really stylish pieces of remixed artwork used to promote the games back in the day, this official acknowledgement of the remasters doesn't actually reveal a whole lot of new information - though a few tidbits did come to light.

October also marks the 20th anniversary of GTA 3, which is the event this whole release is centered around. This marked the beginning of the 3D era, which really led to the franchise taking off and cementing itself as a mainstream pillar of the gaming medium. The 2D games were successful and popular, but not to this degree.

Rockstar has confirmed the list of platforms that Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition will launch on - we now know that it will indeed grace the Nintendo Switch, alongside current and past gen consoles and PC. Additionally, The Definitive Edition will be launched on iOS and Android later in 2022.

While lacking in specifics, the announcement did mention that the remastered versions of the games would have various gameplay improvements alongside the overhauled graphics and visual effects, so we're looking at more than just a purely aesthetic remaster. Nonetheless, Rockstar specifies that the remasters will maintain the look and feel of these classics.

Leading up to the eventual launch of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, Rockstar is taking down the current, retro versions of these games from various storefronts online. If you are keen on owning the non-remastered, vanilla versions of GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas, get them now while you still can.

The developers haven't revealed a release date yet, but if they're really commemorating the anniversary of GTA 3 with this, then it might be coming even sooner than the latest reports indicate. In any case, the remasters themselves are just a portion of the celebratory event, which also involves a number of promotions in GTA Online.

So far we've only been shown a single in-game shirt with the classic old-school red "Wasted" text that appeared on screen when your character got killed. That said, more items evoking the feel of the 3D era will be coming to Online in the coming weeks, and they won't just be clothing items and liveries.

Rockstar also dropped a cheeky reference to upcoming major GTA Online DLC. Each year, we tend to get a big update filled to the brim with content around the holiday season to send the year off on a high - these updates usually lead to the game smashing concurrent player records, because this beast of a game is somehow still growing.

Stay tuned for more info - Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is bound to be close!