Grand Theft Auto 3 Definitive Edition is free to download and keep right now [Update]

Update: Aaaaaand... it's back to full price. Seems like it GTA 3: Definitive Edition was offered for free in error, so a lucky break if you caught it while it was up!

Grand Theft Auto 3: Definitive Edition, the 2021 remaster of the seminal open world nick-a-car, fight-a-cop game, is currently free to download.

At present, it’s limited to iOS users — so that’s anyone with an iPhone or iPad — but the game is available in its entirety, without the need for an in-app purchase unlock. Considering it usually costs £18.99, it’s a bargain.

It’s unclear yet whether or not this is an unannounced promotion, or a pricing error. The fact it’s only available on one platform suggests the latter. So if you’re interested in grabbing it at the cheapest price it’ll ever be, do so while you can.

The most important game of modern times?

Grand Theft Auto 3 completely changed the landscape of video games when it first released in 2001 on the PlayStation 2. Taking what had been a 2D series and transporting it into full 3D, it offered gamers unparalleled freedom to carry out their criminal fantasies in game.

It’d go on to set the blueprint not only for the rest of the best-selling series, but also forged a path for open world games as varied as Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Cyberpunk 2077.

This Definitive Edition remaster was met with some criticism at launch due to some technical hitches and dodgy art upscaling. But subsequent patches have made it by far the best way to play this all-time classic on modern systems.

As for what’s next for developers Rockstar Games? Hotly anticipated sequel GTA 6 is due out on May 26, 2026, while there are rumours that remastered versions of GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption 2 are being planned for current systems.

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