
Rockstar Debuts New PC Game Launcher with GTA: San Andreas as a Free Title
In the immortal words of CJ: here we go again.
It's time for CJ to follow the damn train once more as Rockstar follows the money in the proprietary game launcher space. Today marks the launch of the Rockstar Games Launcher on the PC, and to promote the service Rockstar is offering Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas free to users for a limited time.
The Rockstar Games Launcher can be downloaded from the Rockstar Social Club website. A Social Club account is required to sign into the launcher. Once installed, you can scan your system for already purchased copies of the games that are currently available in the launcher's store, which include Grand Theft Auto 5, Grand Theft Auto 3, San Andreas, Vice City, L.A. Noire, Bully, and Max Payne 3. Grand Theft Auto 4 is notably absent from the launcher's debut catalogue.
Right now, Rockstar's launcher supports multiple Social Club profiles, 2-step verification, cloud saves, and automatic updating. Official add-ons for certain titles can be purchased through the Rockstar Games launcher, but it currently lacks integration for user mods.
This move puts Rockstar on the growing list of developers and publishers that have created first-party PC launchers with associated storefronts. While Steam and the Epic Games Store continue working at odds to attract third-party developers to its storefronts, Activision, EA, Bethesda, and Ubisoft are also operating applications for buying and playing games. Direct purchases, itch.io, Humble, and sales through Discord servers also add to people's increasingly fragmented game libraries. CD Projekt Red's GOG Galaxy 2.0 is aiming to group all the other launchers under its own launcher.
None of the games currently available on Rockstar's launcher are exclusive to it, though offering a free copy of San Andreas could help drive adoption. In comparison, the launch of the Epic Games Store was helped by the tremendous success of Fortnite, which required Epic's launcher.
There's still no word on whether Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar's latest smash hit on consoles, wil be ported to the PC any time soon. Earlier this year, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said there would be "no downside" to a PC release for the game. If Rockstar's wild west opus were released for the PC exclusively through its own PC game launcher, letting Rockstar and Take-Two bypass the revenue splits offered through other companies' storefronts, that'd be one less reason to keep the game to consoles.
In other news
Control: Ultimate Edition Confirms PS5 and Xbox Series S/X Dates and Ray Tracing Toggle
If you were hoping for the highest of high-end performance… dream on, Faden.
Hades Now Has Cross-Save Between Switch and PC
The gods are on the move.
The SNES Can Do Ray Tracing Thanks to a Homebrew “SuperRT” Chip
Ben Carter's chip design makes real-time lighting and reflections possible on a 30-year-old console.
Xbox Is Hosting a Space Jam Game Jam Design Contest
We got a real (game) jam goin' now.
Need help?
Apex Legends Vaults - Where to Find the Vaults and How to Open Them
Need to know how to find a Vault Key in Apex Legends to open one of the three vaults? We've got you covered.
Gears 5 Collectibles - How to Find All Collectible Locations
Here's our guide to the Gears 5 collectible locations, including Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, and Act 4 collectibles.
Devil May Cry 5 Devil Breakers - Devil Breaker Arm Abilities in Devil May Cry 5
Here's our complete breakdown of every Devil Breaker arm ability for Nero in Devil May Cry 5.
Sekiro Tips - How to Beat Every Boss and Survive in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
This is our complete beginner's guide to surviving Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, including a list of essential tips and tricks.