10 Worst Video Games Launches Of All Time (And If They Got Fixed)

Disaster: On paper, a remastered collection of GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas sounded like a dream come true. But when GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition dropped in 2021, it quickly became a nightmare. 

The remasters were plagued by technical issues, broken AI, bizarre character models, missing music, and a laundry list of visual bugs - including infamous rain effects that made the game unplayable in some scenes. Worse still, the original versions were pulled from digital storefronts just before launch, leaving players with no alternative. For a series with such a legacy, the release felt like a rushed, cynical cash grab.

Redemption: Three years later, in late 2024, Rockstar quietly rolled out a major graphical patch - one that noticeably improved the trilogy’s visuals and lighting. The update appeared to be based on work by Video Games Deluxe (the studio behind the better-received mobile ports), and significantly cleaned up some of the worst visual offenders. 

At the same time, Grove Street Games - the original credited developers - were scrubbed from the game's startup logos and copyright info. While the patch wasn’t marketed as a full relaunch, it showed Rockstar wasn’t entirely done fixing things - and despite all the bad press, the game sold like hot cakes... at least currently it has quality to match the demand