A former Rockstar Games developer that has previously worked on Grand Theft Auto 4 has said that the studio should work on a remaster of the game. Responding to social media X users asking him a question about rumours surrounding a GTA 4 remaster, former technical director at the studio Obbe Vermeij said that it should happen, considering other successful remasters in recent times.
“I hadn’t heard those rumours,” posted Vermeij on X. “I think GTA IV should be remastered. It’s a great game and there have been a number of successful remasters recently.” Vermeij also wrote about wanting to see GTA 4 protagonist Niko Bellic return in some form, saying that he is still the best protagonist of the franchise in his opinion.
“I would like to see it updated,” Vermiej responded to a post asking his thoughts. “Niko is still the best protagonist in any GTA game I think.”
Rumours about a remastered release of Grand Theft Auto 4 first started making the rounds all the way back in November 2021. The rumours came in light of the at-the-time recent release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition. At the time, the rumours indicated that the remaster would be released in 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and that it would include the Episodes from Liberty City expansions as a bundle.
However, 2023 is a long time ago when it comes to video game releases, and Rockstar Games has still been quiet on the matter. While smaller rumours kept popping up here and there, they started coming back in earnest this year. A more recent rumour, courtesy of known Rockstar Games insider Tez2, indicated that a port for modern platforms is still in the works.
Taking to the GTA Forums, Tez2 said that Grand Theft Auto 4 is being ported to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and that work on the ports had been going on for more than a year. While the post didn’t reveal too many details, it did indicate that Rockstar might be looking to tide fans of GTA 6 over in light of its recent delay to May 26, 2026 by releasing the GTA 4 port later this year.
The insider also said that the GTA 4 port would be part of a larger plan by Rockstar to also release a remaster of Max Payne 3 down the line. The latter would be released in time with Remedy’s current work on remaking the original Max Payne games.
“Someone at R* hinted at the [GTA] IV port, and by now it should’ve gone up a year in development.+,” he wrote. “We may end up seeing it drop later this year. And it’s one more reason, in addition to existing reasons, the LCPP mod was taken down. If they still follow their plan laid out from the pandemic days, they’ll do an MP3 port after IV. So that is an opportunity to do a bundle or a Definitive Edition. Max Payne 1 & 2 remakes, and a Max Payne 3 port.”
Grand Theft Auto 4 was originally released back in 2008 on Xbox 360 and PS3. It has since also been released on PC, where it can still be played on modern systems alongside its Episodes from Liberty City story expansions.
