A GTA modder has got the 1997 original working perfectly on modern PCs and Steam Deck, and it's a joy to behold: 'I wanted pick up-and-play GTA on Windows with the best possible compatibility without classic installation'

In the most welcome of news, you can now play the original Grand Theft Auto—the 1997 top-down, chaos-in-a-shoebox crime simulator that started it all—on modern PCs and Steam Decks without cursing at your screen and tearing your hair out. As a long-suffering bald man, I'm not sure I can confidently pin my lack of follicle fullness on being unable to reliably run the OG GTA on modern hardware until now, but it has always been a total faff.

Removed from digital storefronts such as Steam by Rockstar in the earliest stretch of last decade...