Grand Theft Auto trilogy Mac-ing 'likely this year'

In 2001, the game-design landscape changed following the launch of the revolutionary open-world game Grand Theft Auto III on the PlayStation 2. The following year, Sony's system was graced with the 1980s throwback Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, followed by the gangsta-rap-influenced Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2004.

Following their PS2 debuts, all three games were later released for the PC and Xbox as part of a three-game set, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy. Now, nearly a decade after GTA III came out, it and the two other titles will debut on yet another system--the Mac.

Speaking on the official Rockstar Facebook page's Asked & Answered column, reps for the publisher said the following: "Look for the long-awaited release of the classic Grand Theft Auto Trilogy (Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) for Mac, most likely later this year. We'll have much more info and a proper announcement soon." The Trilogy was released for the PC in 2009 and the PS2 and original Xbox in 2005.

Grand Theft Auto III is credited with taking the open-world, sandbox style of gaming mainstream and follows a mute thug on his crime spree in a New York City knockoff, Liberty City. Vice City is set in a faux Miami and is packed with 1980s references from Miami Vice to Flock of Seagulls. Set in the 1990s, San Andreas is steeped in LA-style hip-hop culture but is set in three fictionalized cities based on LA, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.