Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is here, bringing visual and gameplay updates to the decades-old Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Ask any fan of these games and they’ll tell you their soundtracks are among their best features — and they’d be absolutely correct. While GTA III largely uses original songs created in-house, Vice City and San Andreas bring together some of the best bangers from the ’80s and early ’90s, respectively.
Unfortunately, with time, licensing issues have sprung up and many of the tracks featured in the original releases of these games have been removed. If you’re playing Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, you aren’t truly experiencing the definitive version of these games’ soundtracks. However, while it’s frustrating that the “definitive” versions of these games are missing a whole bunch of music that made them great, cutting songs from GTA games is nothing new.
The removal of songs began in 2012, when Vice City was released for mobile devices; later, these same cuts were forced upon PC players through a patch, and when the game was ported to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, these tracks were still missing. The same is true of San Andreas, which lost songs when it was ported to mobile (a patch removed them from PC versions of the game, and the eventual Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4 ports didn’t include them).
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition includes most cuts from years prior, but re-adds one song, while Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition only includes cuts made in prior releases. Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition has seen no cuts, likely due to its largely unlicensed soundtrack. Altogether, there are 25 missing songs in GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.
Keep scrolling for a full list of all the removed songs in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. We’ve independently confirmed these songs are missing by listening to each radio station in all three games. If you want information on all songs in the game, check out our full music list instead.
Songs missing in Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition
No songs have been removed from Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition. You’re experiencing the GTA III soundtrack as it was when the game originally launched in 2001!
Songs missing in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition
There are 8 songs missing in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition, although none of them are new to this release. Interestingly, “Running with the Night” by Lionel Richie, which had only appeared in the original PlayStation 2 release of Vice City and was cut in all other versions, is in The Definitive Edition.
| Title | Artist | Radio Station | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herbie Hancock | Rockit | Wildstyle | Originally removed in the 2012 iOS and Android re-release of the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2012, including on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Looking for the Perfect Beat | Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force | Wildstyle | Originally removed in the 2012 iOS and Android re-release of the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2012, including on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| The Smurf | Tyrone Brunson | Wildstyle | Originally removed in the 2012 iOS and Android re-release of the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2012, including on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Billie Jean | Michael Jackson | Flash FM | Originally removed in the 2012 iOS and Android re-release of the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2012, including on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Wanna Be Startin' Something | Michael Jackson | Fever 105 | Originally removed in the 2012 iOS and Android re-release of the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2012, including on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Bark at the Moon | Ozzy Osbourne | V-Rock | Originally removed in the 2012 iOS and Android re-release of the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2012, including on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Añunga Ñunga | Irakere | Radio Espantoso | Originally removed in the 2012 iOS and Android re-release of the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2012, including on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Wow | Kate Bush | Emotion 98.3 | Originally removed in the 2012 iOS and Android re-release of the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2012, including on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
Songs missing in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition
There are 17 songs missing in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition, although none of them are new to this release.
| Title | Artist | Radio Station | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Beatdown | Ultramagnetic MCs | Playback FM | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Runnin' Down a Dream | Tom Petty | K-DST | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Woman to Woman | Joe Cocker | K-DST | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Yum Yum (Gimme Some) | Fatback Band | Bounce FM | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| You Dropped a Bomb on Me | Gap Band | Bounce FM | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Running Away | Roy Ayers | Bounce FM | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| I Don't Give a Fuck | 2Pac feat. Pogo | Radio Los Santos | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Express Youtself | N.W.A. | Radio Los Santos | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Hellraiser | Ozzy Osbourne | Radio X | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Killing in the Name | Rage Against the Machine | Radio X | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Don't Let It Go to Your Head | Black Harmony | K-JAH West | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Ring My Bell | Blood Sisters | K-JAH West | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Express Yourself | Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band | Master Sounds 98.3 | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Rock Creek Park | The Blackbyrds | Master Sounds 98.3 | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| Funky President | James Brown | Master Sounds 98.3 | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| The Payback | James Brown | Master Sounds 98.3 | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
| The Grunt | The JB's | Master Sounds 98.3 | Originally removed in the 2013 iOS and Android re-release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and later removed via a patch for its PC version. All releases after 2013, including on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, do not include this song. |
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Written by Daniel Dell-Cornejo
Daniel is an editor at Nintendo Wire. Always with his head in the clouds, he is never apart from his creative thoughts – a blessing for an aspiring fiction writer. As a journalist and lifelong gamer, he aims to provide readers with the very best in Nintendo coverage.
