GTA 6 maker Rockstar Games acquires developer of GTA trilogy update

GTA Vice City The Definitive Edition

Grand Theft Auto 6 maker Rockstar Games has acquired Australian video game developer Video Games Deluxe, the studio behind the 2024 updates to Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition. Video Games Deluxe has also worked with Rockstar on the 2017 re-releases of L.A. Noire and L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files.

In a press statement, Jennifer Kolbe, Head of Publishing, Rockstar Games, said: “After working together closely over many years, we are excited to have Video Games Deluxe join the team as Rockstar Australia.

“It’s been an honor to work closely with Rockstar Games this past decade,” said Video Games Deluxe founder Brendan McNamara in the press statement. “We are thrilled to be a part of Rockstar Games and to continue our efforts to make the best games possible.”

Rockstar Games had partnered with Brendan McNamara’s former studio, Team Bondi, for the detective thriller L.A. Noire. That’s how the GTA series developer first got in touch with the team at Video Games Deluxe.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition received a surprise update after 3 years in November 2024. The GTA trilogy update included fixes to game lighting and other improvements.

Released in 2021, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy— The Definitive Edition consists of the “definitive” versions of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. When the GTA trilogy came to PC and console, its new lighting system, in particular, got a lot of criticism for removing the distinctive tints of the games. Rockstar had to apologise and re-release the classic PC versions of the games. It offered the classic PC games for free to people who’d bought Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy— The Definitive Edition.