GTA Remastered trilogy may remove some controversial content from games

GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition, after months of speculation and leaks, has finally been confirmed by Rockstar Games, and naturally fans have been ecstatic. One of the many joys of the remaster is being able to go back and experience the nostalgia of the old games, but in a much more modern way, with improved visuals and hopefully controls.

The ability for developers to improve the experience is one thing, but there’s also the ability to possibly remove and change content that isn’t so well out of date. Every GTA game has been largely a product of its time, and naturally today’s considerations and standards of correctness cannot but affect the general perception of games today. In light of this, it looks like Rockstar has changed at least one aspect of older games, and perhaps more will soon follow.

GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition will obviously change certain content from the game.

News has surfaced on Reddit that the new remasters have apparently changed the look of the main characters that appear in GTA Vice City (and briefly in Grand Theft Auto III). The character in older games wore a Confederate flag t-shirt, and Rockstar appears to have replaced it with a less aggressive t-shirt.

Fans were able to spot the change in the gameplay trailer released by Rockstar Games, and for now, fans’ opinions seem to be divided. While Rockstar has the full right to remove and modify content they deem inappropriate, certain fan groups claim that doing so opens up the possibility for the publisher/studio to remove other major elements of the game.

The trilogy releases on November 11, 2021.

So far, this seems to be the only change fans have noticed, but it seems like a fairly innocuous move on Rockstar’s part as it doesn’t fundamentally change the core of the experience. As more of the games are revealed, it will be interesting to see what other changes Rockstar has in store for GTA fans.