Modder makes 1997 GTA run flawlessly on modern PCs and Steam Deck

A modder has packaged the original 1997 top-down Grand Theft Auto into something called GTA Ready2Play, letting it run on modern PCs and Steam Decks without the usual fiddling. Removed from digital storefronts early last decade, the game was left to middling mods and haphazard emulation.

LukeStorm's Ready2Play is a plug-and-play mini-time-capsule that "runs like it somehow belongs in 2026." For LukeStorm this began as a hobby that turned toward digital preservation. "It's truly a passion project for me to prepare older games in my own Ready2Play style," he says.

"I wanted to have GTA (Windows version) with the best possible compatibility and without classic installation in my Ready2Play style—that was my only idea," and for a long time it wasn't clear whether he would release Ready2Play in this form at all. Feedback from players has been strong and led to improvements: "The feedback [has been] overwhelmingly positive.

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