What Is GTA Downgraders?

Updated

GTA Downgraders (downgraders.rockstarvision.com) is a website that provides tools to revert Grand Theft Auto games back to earlier versions. It covers GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA IV, offering installers that downgrade the Rockstar Games Launcher (RGSC) or Steam releases to v1, plus a radio restoration tool for GTA IV: The Complete Edition. It's aimed at players who want to mod these games or fix compatibility issues that newer patches introduced.

What the Site Offers

The site organizes its downloads by game and by the version you're starting from:

Game Downgrade Path Notes
GTA III RGSC to v1 Launch via GTA3.exe, not the RGSC launcher
GTA Vice City RGSC to v1 Launch via GTA-VC.exe, not the RGSC launcher
GTA San Andreas RGSC/Steam to v1, or v2 to v1 Launch via GTA-sa.exe, not RGSC or Steam
GTA IV CE Radio Restoration mod Requires Fusion Fix

Each downgrade package follows the same basic pattern: extract to your GTA directory, run install.bat, and wait until the window disappears (it blinks briefly for about a second).

Why Downgrade?

Newer patches to these games often removed music tracks, changed radio stations, or broke mod compatibility. Downgrading to v1 restores the original content and gives mods a stable base to work from. For San Andreas in particular, the v2 to v1 downgrade is a common step because many mods only support v1.

Recommended Mods

The site lists recommended mods for GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas:

  • Widescreen Fixes — corrects aspect ratio and HUD scaling on modern displays
  • Ginput — adds gamepad support
  • SkyGFX — restores the original graphics rendering of the PS2 versions

For GTA IV: The Complete Edition, the site offers a Radio Restoration mod that brings back cut radio content. The process:

  1. Extract all files from GTAIVCERADIORESTOREINSTALLER.zip to an empty folder
  2. Run IVCERadioRestorer.exe
  3. Follow the installer's instructions
  4. Launch via Steam or Rockstar Games Launcher

This mod requires Fusion Fix, which the installer can download automatically.

Common Issues After Downgrading

  • "Insert CD2" message — install SilentPatch and/or Cleo to remove it (applies to GTA III and Vice City)
  • Mouse not working — SilentPatch is recommended to fix compatibility issues (applies to San Andreas)
  • Launching the wrong way — always launch via the game's own .exe (GTA3.exe, GTA-VC.exe, GTA-sa.exe), not through RGSC or Steam, or the downgrade may not take effect

Credits and Community

The tools are maintained by Tomasak (downgraders), with contributions including Parik's audio tool for the GTA IV radio downgrader, ICan'tReadYourMind's installer, Ermaccer's website design, and various community members who helped restore specific radio content and DJ lines.