It’s fair to say that the launch of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition hasn’t gone according to plan. First, many players took issue with some of the alterations made for the remastered games, then Rockstar was forced to remove the PC version of the game to strip out data files that were left in by accident. To make matters worse, buyers are now clamouring for refunds.
It would seem that there are other files included in the game that might also be removed at some point, as data miners have discovered that the infamous ‘Hot Coffee’ code is still in the game – although it’s worth noting that it doesn’t seem like it’s possible to actually enable it in the Definitive Edition:
In case you were unaware, Hot Coffee was a naughty hidden minigame in the original 2004 release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which contained (ahem) ‘mature content’. The game wasn’t accessible at launch, but a mod was released for the PC version which granted access. Following this, it was discovered that the same assets were present in the console versions, and modders quickly enabled it in those versions, too.
GTA has always been something of a touchy topic for the mainstream media, but Hot Coffee took that frosty relationship to entirely new levels. Rockstar eventually released an updated version of the game with Hot Coffee removed and patched the original release, but it was hit with legal action over the minigame’s initial inclusion; Rockstar parent company Take-Two decided to settle a class-action suit with the Federal Trade Commission by paying just under $20 million in 2009.
Grove Street Games – the company which has handled this new version of the GTA Trilogy – has responded to the criticism, with its CEO and owner Thomas Williamson saying that updates are on the way.
