Last month Grand Theft Auto IV's 15th anniversary came and went with essentially zero fanfare from Rockstar Games. A damn shame.
GTA IV might not be quite as fondly remembered as Vice City or San Andreas, and it certainly didn't have the same cultural impact as GTA V (although what has?), but it's still a fantastic game - one with a much more grounded presence and excellently written characters.
It really hurts to see the game's 15th anniversary milestone pass without comment from Rockstar Games, then... especially considering the rumours that an official remake was in development before being cancelled to focus on GTA 6. That stings, although given the state of the Vice City and San Andreas remasters Rockstar farted out we may have dodged a bullet there.
While an official remake may remain tantalisingly out of reach for now, YouTuber TeaserPlay has done an amazing job of imagining what a GTA IV remake might look like in Unreal Engine 5. You can see it for yourself below!
"Honestly the GTA that most deserves a remaster is GTA IV," one commenter wrote, echoing a sentiment that I think is definitely shared by the vast majority of GTA lovers.
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Another added: "There are so many people who never beat GTA IV because they didn't like the first few missions, but it has the one of the best story's, best driving, best physics, lot's of mini games, you had other characters you could go hang out with, getting drunk and driving makes your car almost impossible to control.
"Such a solid game. If they remastered it and just tweaked some things, it would probably sell triple the amount it did back in 2008. I still go back and play it."
Given that the fans recently praised GTA IV as a genuinely "legendary" piece of work during its 15th birthday, it's truly baffling that Rockstar seems dead set on ignoring Niko Bellic and Liberty City. Maybe after GTA 6 releases... whenever the hell that might be.
Topics: Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, Unreal Engine