Some crafty players have bamboozled their way in already, leading to gameplay footage leaking online ahead of release. However, even if you haven’t swindled your way to early access, the game will become playable real soon - The Definitive Edition launches simultaneously worldwide, so the big moment will arrive at some weird hours in certain time zones. Read on to see when it goes live near you.
7:00 AM PST (US) 8:00 AM MST (US) 9:00 AM CST (US) 10:00 AM EST (US) 3:00 PM GT (UK) 4:00 PM CET (Europe) 12:00 AM, November 12 JST (East Asia) 2:00 AM, November 12 AEDT (Australia) 4:00 AM, November 12 NZDT (New Zealand)
Europe gets the luckiest pull here, with the game launching around the time many people start heading home from work, whereas further east you’ll end up waiting until the 12th to gain access to the remastered versions of GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas. The launch is simultaneous across all platforms, and players who pre-ordered on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch already had the chance to pre-load. The three remasters aren’t conventionally available separately, but San Andreas: The Definitive Edition will be on Xbox Game-Pass from launch and GTA 3: The Definitive Edition will go live on PlayStation Now on the 7th of December. Rather than just hasty, surface-level remasters, The Definitive Edition transplants these classic GTA titles into the Unreal Engine with completely rebuilt assets that maintain the low-poly aesthetic of the original releases while spicing things up with high-resolution textures, new lighting effects and a control scheme inspired by that of GTA 5. The UI also got a major overhaul across all three games, while keeping the original style at heart. Get ready to jump into the shoes of Claude Speed, Tommy Vercetti and CJ!