Classic Rockstar Games titles from the PS1, PS2 and PSP might be making their way onto the PS5 and PS4. This is stemming from Rockstar’s iconic logo being present on the company known for such re-releases.
Implicit Conversions are the game studio who specialise in emulating classic games on newer consoles such as the PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S. They’ve got 10,000s of games up and running on the three main platforms. One fan has pointed out they have worked with Rockstar but it is currently unknown in what capacity.
Rockstar appears as a partner
On Implicit Conversions’ site homepage they have the logos of several game publishers of which they’ve worked with. Most of those listed have had their emulated games released. However, Rockstar Games have not. This was first spotted by u/TURB0_THUNDER on Reddit.
I wanted to see if this was a recent change to their website. Sometimes changes are made to websites and are not noticed by fans until weeks or months afterwards. So, I checked the website via the Wayback Machine.
The earliest appearance of Rockstar’s logo on their homepage is on October 27th 2023. The snapshot before that was taken on April 7th 2023 and it does not display Rockstar’s logo. That means between April and October Rockstar’s logo was added. We’re now five months clear of October so whatever work they’ve been doing with Rockstar has been going on for some time now.
What may be coming?
Implicit Conversions have done a lot of work for PlayStation. In particular, this work is done for PlayStation Plus Premium, the most expensive tier of Sony’s game subscription service. One of the key selling points of this tier is the Classics Catalogue; a selection of PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP and PS4 titles playable on the PS4 and PS5.
Every so often PlayStation add games into the Classics Catalogue and in 2022 Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare were made part of it. However, it was removed before the PS4 re-release. Fans were upset over this decision even before the port was revealed.
Rockstar released a lot of beloved games on the PS1, PSP and PS2 so it would be great for fans to get them on their PS5 or even PS4. The Classics Catalogue has come under fire by fans for the lack of PS1 and PS2 titles in recent times.
To bolster the offering in 2024 and no doubt bring in new subscribers, PlayStation could introduce the likes of the original GTA, Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories, Chinatown Wars, Bully, Manhunt, and more.
Not a fan of subscription services or just don’t fancy upgrading up tier? Don’t worry. When PlayStation puts out a classic game at no extra cost to PS+ Premium members, the game is available to purchase standalone for a small fee. These vary in price, around $5 each, give or take. This means if you wanted to pick up a theoretical classic Rockstar re-release, you can do digitally without a membership.
It will be interesting how Rockstar Game approach this. They currently have Liberty City Stories and Chinatown Wars playable on mobile through GTA+. There is also talk of other older Rockstar games like Bully coming to GTA+ as well.
Which iconic Rockstar Games titles would you love to see come to the PS4 and PS5 this year? Let us know down in the comments. There’s a lot of love for the PSP games and having them come to modern consoles would mean a lot more people could experience them.
It is also possible Implicit Conversions are doing work in a different area to PlayStation Classics for Rockstar. The Classics collection of games seems to be the most plausible explanation for the logo addition for now but only time will tell.
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1 Comment
Haha, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a new Red Dead Redemption or LA Noire on the next gen consoles. I’ve been hearing rumors about a possible remaster of Bully, would love to see that happen!