GTA 3 Turns 20 This Year, Rockstar Teases "Surprises"

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto III celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and the studio is planning to mark the occasion with some "fun surprises." In a blog post, the developer said some of the surprises will be included in GTA Online, but there is no word yet on any other ways the studio might celebrate the anniversary.

Here is the official word: "In honor of the upcoming 20th anniversary of the genre defining Grand Theft Auto III, we'll have even more fun surprises to share--including some specifically for GTA Online players."

That's all Rockstar had to say, and this message itself was tucked away inside a blog post concerning updates for GTA and Red Dead Online and the PS5/Xbox Series X|S editions of Grand Theft Auto V. So it's not exactly like Rockstar is making a big deal out of the GTA III tease. That said, this tease comes not long after Rockstar parent company Take-Two shut down a GTA III fan remake, leading some to believe that Rockstar itself was developing one. That's just unconfirmed scuttlebutt for now, however.

GTA III was a celebrated, highly influential entry in the series. Most notably, it was the first entry in the series to move away from a top-down perspective and embrace a 3D open-world structure. It was originally released on PS2 before coming to PC and the OG Xbox.

A 10-year anniversary edition of the game was released in 2011 for mobile devices.

In other GTA news, Rockstar just announced that Grand Theft Auto V is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in November alongside the standalone GTA Online game. Rockstar also outlined its plans for major updates to GTA Online this summer.