Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition enjoyed mixed fortunes when it launched. While it was – naturally – highly anticipated by many, it “did not launch in a state that meets [Rockstar Games’] own standards of quality”, as the company later said. It’s been a hot minute since we’ve heard anything from the developer about the trilogy, though “more updates” are coming.
Speaking to GamesBeat, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has stressed that it’s always the goal to release the highest quality projects and that more updates are on the way for the trilogy remasters. “There were [quality issues] and we addressed that head on,” Zelnick says. “We definitely had some quality issues. We have more updates coming. And it’s always our goal to release only the highest quality projects. If we fall short, it’s terribly disappointing for all of us. We did fall short on that occasion. And we’ve begun to address it and we’re happy that we began to address it. There’s more work to be done.”
Regardless of some launch wobbles, though, it appears the trilogy has sold well. During a recent quarterly financial call, Zelnick explained that the trio of remasters “significantly” exceeded Take-Two’s commercial expectations.
Later into the call, Zelnick moved to allay concerns that something similar could happen with the upcoming GTA V enhanced editions or the newly announced GTA game. “We are totally focused on quality here and we always want to deliver the best possible experience,” he explains. “Very occasionally we fall short, and I think the trilogy was an example of that.”
We know little about the new GTA game at this point, though its confirmation will be exciting for many. Rockstar confirms that “active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway”, though that’s your lot for now.
Naturally, Grand Theft Auto V continues to sell very well. As of February 2022, the crime game has sold 160 million copies. As Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier points out, that’s almost as much as the entire Final Fantasy series, which is currently sitting on 164 million copies as of September 2021. That number is likely higher now, mind you, with FFXIV’s Endwalker expansion release, which Square Enix had to temporarily pull from sale due to how popular it was.