Rockstar Games has announced that it will release its Grand Theft series in a Trilogy pack for the PS2 in time for Christmas.

Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be released as Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy on 4 December in the US for $40.

Rockstar Games calls the series “a defining franchise for the PlayStation 2 system, becoming synonymous with genre-shattering gameplay, cinematic scripts, and ground-breaking soundtracks”.

The next episode in the Grand Theft series isn’t scheduled for release until 19 October 2007 in Europe, and will be designed for next-generation consoles PS3 and Xbox 360. Microsoft and Rockstar Games announced in May that episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV will be made available via Xbox Live, giving gamers an ever-expanding choice of stories and options.