Grand Theft Auto IV 
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Why does GTA 3's moon change shape when you snipe it? Because some Rockstar devs couldn't settle a tiffFeb 14, 2024 - VG247Why does the moon in GTA 3 change size whenever you shoot it with a sniper rifle? It’s a question that’s been haunting all of us for a long time now. Well, Thanks to one of the developers who worked on the game, we now know the answer. GTA games are known for being home to the odd semi-hidden quirk or easter egg can that make for a great way to impress your little cousin if it’s their first time watching you play. Getting inside the Statue of Liberty in GTA 4 and casually basking in the cartoonish red glow of its beating heart is probably my personal favourite, but I’d imagine it didn’t come about via an unresolved dev argument. You know what did? The fact that you can cause GTA 3’s moon to change size by sticking a bullet in it. Yup, ex-Rockstar Technical Director Obbe Vermeij - who you might remembeR having previously shared some details about a brief effort to make a Scottish zombie survival game using Vice City’s code - was there, and the whole moon thing was his way of trying to stop his coworkers from arguing with each other. Read more Rockstar announces access to "rotating assortment" of iconic GTA gamesSep 22, 2023 - PCGamesNGrand Theft Auto has long stood the test of time as one of the most iconic game series ever. Rockstar Games' long-lasting line of city-based criminal activity-focused experiences has just evolved even further with the company's new GTA+ subscription membership benefits. The developer just announced that all players subscribed will have access to a steadily changing selection of classic Grand Theft Auto games, from beloved entries like San Andreas to Vice City. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: GTA voted game "most likely not to succeed" by Rockstar creators Take-Two founder Ryan Brant dies at 47 The making of: Grand Theft Auto Rockstar loses another one of its key writersAug 28, 2023 - VG247Michael Unsworth, vice president of writing at Rockstar Games, has seemingly left the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption developer. As spotted by GTAForums user Rucke, and shared by Rockstar Games new account SWEGTA, Unsworth recently updated his LinkedIn page indicating that he was no longer with the developer. There's no indication on his profile as to what he's doing next, and neither he nor Rockstar has shared why he decided to leave. Unsworth has been with Rockstar for 16 years, starting as a senior creative writer in 2007, later going on to become writing director in 2019, before spending the past two years as the company's vice president of writing. His credits include a big range of the developer's catalogue, including Grand Theft Auto 4, Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto 5, Max Payne 3, LA Noire, and most recently Red Dead Redemption 2. It's unclear at this point in time if he will be credited for any writing on GTA 6, or even if he has done any for it, as it's not currently listed in his writing credits. Read more The best GTA game Rockstar ever made is less than $6Aug 17, 2023 - PCGamesNGrand Theft Auto 4 seemed to catch people off guard. When it was released in 2008, the Rockstar sandbox game was a broad departure from the wacky, playground style of GTA San Andreas. You couldn't go to the gym. You couldn't steal a fighter plane. There were no jet packs. But over time, with the emergence of Red Dead Redemption and, moreover, RDR2, Grand Theft Auto 4's more somber, sober approach has become more appreciated. With the GTA 6 release date on its way, and perhaps a little fatigue setting in after more than ten years of Grand Theft Auto 5, the best, bravest, and most well-told GTA Rockstar ever made is worth replaying - especially for the low price of less than $6, courtesy of a new Steam sale. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: GTA 4 Definitive Edition is no more as Rockstar battles GTA 6 leaks GTA 6 should be like GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2, not GTA 5 GTA 4 returns to Steam as a 'Complete Edition' - without some key features Bully 2 may have been killed by stretching resources too thin, layoffs – reportDec 30, 2021 - VG247Game Informer’s Blake Hester published a detailed report all about the Bully 2 that might have been and what led to the studio developing the sequel’s downfall. In short, Rockstar New England was pulled in multiple directions to the point where Bully 2 was no longer the focus of the developers who worked there. Rockstar New England, which was purchased by Rockstar when the former was Mad Doc Software and was responsible for the next-gen remaster of the first Bully at the time, had ambitious plans for the sequel, a bigger, more characterized game that could stand alongside L.A. Noire and Grand Theft Auto 4 as a grand tentpole release worthy of the Rockstar name. It was not to be, though, as the studio got pulled in multiple directions, called on to assist with projects like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 and immersed in the crunch culture that came with working on those games. This caused many developers at Rockstar New England to leave, but the studio was also hit with layoffs, ensuring that Bully 2 wouldn’t see the light of day. It’s a shame, too, because the game was “six to eight hours playable”, though not shippable at that point. Read more GTA IV soundtrack update nixes Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, and dozens moreMay 4, 2021 - PCGamesNUpdate, April 27: Grand Theft Auto IV's soundtrack-skewering update is upon us, and fans have collected the full list of affected songs. Grand Theft Auto IV came out when I was at the height of my classic rock phase, which means I spent a lot of time listening to Liberty Rock Radio. To this day, I can't hear ELO's Evil Woman without seeing the long drive across the bridge from Dukes to Algonquin. Now any future replays of GTA IV are going to sound a lot less nostalgic. Grand Theft Auto V is the most profitable entertainment product ever. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: GTA 4 returns to Steam as a 'Complete Edition' - without some key features Rockstar removed GTA 4 from Steam because of Games for Windows Live GTA 4 gets its first patch in six years, making it play nice with Windows 8 and 10 GTA 4 gets its first patch in six years, making it play nice with Windows 8 and 10May 4, 2021 - PCGamesNGTA IV released eight years ago, but it just got a new patch on Steam, making it play nice with modern operating systems, as well as fixing some bugs and issuing some further optimisation work. Check out our list of the best old games for more videogame blasts from the past. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: GTA 4 returns to Steam as a 'Complete Edition' - without some key features Rockstar removed GTA 4 from Steam because of Games for Windows Live GTA IV soundtrack update nixes Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, and dozens more GTA 4 returns to Steam as a 'Complete Edition' - without some key featuresMay 4, 2021 - PCGamesNGrand Theft Auto IV was recently taken off Steam because of issues with Games for Windows Live support. However, it now seems the open-world game's heading back to Valve's platform. As spotted by Nibel on Twitter, the Steam page for the fourth major title in Rockstar's long-running GTA series now reveals it's on its way back - but as the 'Complete Edition', and without some of the game's online features. "Starting March 19, 2020, Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will replace both Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City wherever it is currently digitally available", the page reads. Following this update, multiplayer mode, leaderboards, and GFWL support will no longer be included in the game, though. And that's not all - the RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM, and Vice City FM radio stations have also now been removed. Sad news if you're a fan of the best reggae and '80s tunes Liberty City has to offer. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Rockstar removed GTA 4 from Steam because of Games for Windows Live GTA IV soundtrack update nixes Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, and dozens more GTA 4 gets its first patch in six years, making it play nice with Windows 8 and 10 Rockstar removed GTA 4 from Steam because of Games for Windows LiveApr 21, 2021 - PCGamesNJanuary 13, 2020 Rockstar says Games For Windows Live issues forced the removal of GTA 4 from Steam. Grand Theft Auto IV has been removed from sale on Steam, and Rockstar Games says it's because of Games For Windows Live. Microsoft's old platform was controversial even at the time, but many games that support it have continued to be sold on Steam and other platforms. However, it seems it's "no longer possible" for that to happen with GTA 4. "Grand Theft Auto IV was originally created for the Games For Windows Live platform," a Rockstar games spokesperson tells us. "With Microsoft no longer supporting Games For Windows Live, it is no longer possible to generate the additional keys needed to continue selling the current version of the game. We are looking at other options for distributing GTA 4 for PC and will share more information as soon as we can." If you already on GTA 4 on Steam, you can still access it there - but you can't purchase it there. The standalone DLC collection Episodes from Liberty City, which also uses GFW Live, is still available for purchase on the platform, and you can still get Steam keys for base GTA 4 through third-party sellers like Humble. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: GTA 4 returns to Steam as a 'Complete Edition' - without some key features GTA IV soundtrack update nixes Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, and dozens more GTA 4 gets its first patch in six years, making it play nice with Windows 8 and 10 Important Updates To Grand Theft Auto IV and Episodes from Liberty CityFeb 19, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsWe are making a number of changes to make sure players who own Grand Theft Auto IV and GTA: Episodes from Liberty City can continue to enjoy these games. New Players Starting 03/19/2020, Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will replace both Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City wherever it is currently digitally available. Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will as also be available via the Rockstar Games Launcher. Current game save files will be compatible with Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition. Steam Achievements for Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will be unavailable until release. As a result of this update the following services will no longer be available in Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition: Games for Windows Live Multiplayer mode Leaderboards The following Radio Stations will be temporarily unavailable in Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM, and Vice City FM (previously available in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City) Note: Because Japanese is a supported language for Grand Theft Auto IV, but is not supported for Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, players will continue to be able to play Grand Theft Auto IV with Japanese sub-titles but will need to select another language in order to play Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. Current Players Players who have previously installed and played Grand Theft Auto IV or Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City will be able to update their copy to Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition through the following means: Steam Users Depending on the game, players on Steam will need to install or update their current game: Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City will be removed and replaced with GTAIV: Complete Edition in the launcher library. Update file size is expected to be approximately 22GB Grand Theft Auto IV owners will download content from Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City and their game will update to GTAIV: Complete Edition. Update file size is expected to be approximately 6GB Physical Media Games not previously activated using Games for Windows Live will be able to use the Key on the back of the game manual to activate and update to Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition Games for Windows Live Digital Store Purchases Games previously activated using Games for Windows Live will require players to create and/or link their Social Club accounts in replacement of Games for Windows Live to update to Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition Note: New activations from players trying to install current copies of Grand Theft Auto IV may be disrupted until Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition is available. All users will need to be connected to the internet and authenticate their copy of the game. Grand Theft Auto IV will return to Steam with no Games For Windows Live or multiplayerFeb 19, 2020 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun After disabling the option to buy Grand Theft Auto IV in January, Rockstar now say 2008’s open-world murder simulator will return to sale in March with a few changes. Microsoft’s awful Games For Windows Live technogubbins is being removed because it caused the trouble in the first place, and that’s great news. It seems some folks will also receive the expansions or base game for free too. Unfortunately, Rockstar are also removing GTA IV’s multiplayer mode and will temporarily disable several radio stations. A mixed crimebag. (more…) Rockstar co-founder and head writer Dan Houser is leavingFeb 5, 2020 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun After 21 years as a Rockstar Games big cheese, Dan Houser will leave the company in March. He’s co-written almost every Rockstar game since 1999, including Grand Theft Auto from London through to V, Bully, Max Payne 3, and the Red Dead Redemptions. That’s made him a big influence on the tone of Rockstar’s games. I wonder how that might change once he’s moved on. Where he’s going and what he’ll do next, we don’t know. He can probably afford to eat pizza while watching Heat on loop the rest of his life, to be honest. (more…) Grand Theft Auto IV is missing from Steam, for now, anywayJan 13, 2020 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunJust in time to launch Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC, Rockstar announced their own game launcher for desktop. Despite having both Grand Theft Auto V and San Andreas available on the new digital storefront, Grand Theft Auto IV is still notably absent. Now it’s been delisted from Steam as well, though it doesn’t actually seem to be related to any grand plans Rockstar have for their own launcher. (more…) Rockstar explains Grand Theft Auto 4's sudden delisting from SteamJan 13, 2020 - EurogamerLate last week, sharp-eyed internet surveyors noticed that Grand Theft Auto 4 had suddenly, without warning, been delisted from Steam. With no official explanation, fans were left to speculate on the reason for the move, but now Rockstar has spoken, pointing the blame finger squarely in the direction of Microsoft's now-defunct Games for Windows Live. In a statement provided to USgamer, Rockstar explained it was forced to suspend sales of GTA4 on Steam simply because it's now "no longer possible to generate the additional keys needed to continue selling the current version of the game", given that Microsoft has officially ended support for the Games for Windows Live platform baked into the title. Although this means Grand Theft Auto 4 is unavailable for purchase on Steam at present (standalone expansion Episodes from Liberty City is unaffected), Rockstar says it's "looking at other options for distributing GTA4 for PC". Read more Rockstar has announced its very own games launcherSep 18, 2019 - EurogamerJoining the likes of Blizzard and Ubisoft, Rockstar has created its own games launcher allowing players to access its PC games from one place, regardless of what digital store you bought them from. The Rockstar Game Launcher is available to download right now, and also lets fans buy games directly from the developer via its shop. For a limited time, as an incentive to install the launcher, you can claim a free copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas when you download it, which will be permanently added to your Social Club account's library. Read more Rockstar's history of AmericaNov 7, 2018 - EurogamerThere is a familiar pattern to media coverage whenever Rockstar publishes a game. There is talk about how the developer has used its newest game to iterate upon and redefine the open world genre. There are almost always articles on how various Hollywood films influenced Rockstar's development process. And there are at least one or two polemics that attack the developer for transgressing established norms about what can and cannot be done in video games. This last type of essay inevitably concludes that video games are bad, and lead to an increase in interpersonal violence as well as the downfall of civilisation. What's interesting about this pattern of coverage is how often it overlooks Rockstar's own development and publishing habits, most notably the company's steady development and publication of games set in the past. Indeed, if we were to remove the typical narrative surrounding Rockstar games related to game mechanics, cinema and satire, we might instead see Rockstar as a publisher of historical games on par with Firaxis (Civilization), Paradox (Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis), or Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed). It's now commonplace to see articles, podcasts and videos criticising those publishers' appropriation of the past, but Rockstar remains remarkably unscathed even though the company has developed and published a series of games that, taken together, chronicle modern American history. These games include Red Dead Redemption 2 (set in 1899), Red Dead Redemption (1911), L.A. Noire (1947), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (1986) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (1992). Whenever one attempts to analyse the history in historical fiction they'll always run into the hand-waving argument that "it's fiction, not history". This defense has been used by Red Dead Redemption 2 lead writer Dan Houser, who stated recently: " may be a work of historical fiction, but it's not a work of history.". Yet we know popular historical fiction often plays an outsized influence on the way the public remembers historical figures or important time periods. Consider, for instance, the impact of Shakespeare's plays on the reputations of Cleopatra and Richard III. Or the importance of Saving Private Ryan to public commemorations of D-Day. To take an example from my own life, I've probably had more conversations with students on the influence of Blackadder Goes Forth on our memory of the First World War than I've had on the actual history of the First World War (although that probably says something more about the quality of my teaching than anything else). The truth is better than fiction, but it's often the fiction we remember the best. Read more… Save the last dance GTA IV axes 50+ soundtrack songsApr 26, 2018 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunAs much fun as we have with our virtual bank-heists, car-chases and random muggings, music licensing seems like a far more lucrative racket. Due to expensive, time-limited music licenses expiring, Grand Theft Auto IV developers Rockstar were recently faced with either pulling the game from sale, paying for a license renewal, or removing a good chunk of its famed soundtrack. Today, a small patch rolled out across multiple platforms, removing the now-unlicensed music tracks and it looks like the damage done may be greater than expected. (more…) Grand Theft Auto IV removing some soundtrack songsApr 12, 2018 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunRockstar have confirmed that they need to cut a number of songs from Grand Theft Auto IV due to music licenses expiring, though they will shuffle in new songs to replace at least some. Probably expect a new patch to cut the old and whack in the new. The Russian pop station Vladivostok FM will take the brunt of the cuts, which will also affect GTA 4’s Episodes From Liberty City standalone expansions. Rockstar have needed to do this with GTA before and it’s still weird to cut up old copies of games, but at least this time they’re taping it back together afterwards. (more…) OpenIV devs drop bringing GTA IV s Liberty City to GTA VJul 5, 2017 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunThe modding project creating a tool to import Liberty City from Grand Theft Auto IV into GTA V has, sadly, shut down. It was the work of the team behind unofficial modding tool OpenIV but, after the fuss which saw the owners of GTA briefly shut down OpenIV with legal threats before making peace, they now say they can’t make it. Such a tool would be against the new Rockstar modding policy, see. But hey, at least OpenIV is back and its development will continue. … GTA modding tool OpenIV shut down by legal threatJun 15, 2017 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunTake-Two’s lawyers have allegedly shut down OpenIV, one of the main tools for modding Grand Theft Auto IV and V. The OpenIV team say they’ve received a ‘cease and desist’ letter from The Suits saying that OpenIV lets people bypass security features and modify the game, which violates Take-Two’s rights and must be stopped. And so, the team have announced they’ll stop distributing the tool. I’m sure it’ll still float around the Internet unofficially, but this is a terrible loss. …
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