GTA fans freak out after bug removes multiple Rockstar games from Steam
Rockstar Games/SteamFans of Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne, Bully and more Rockstar titles were in for quite a scare after all those games were removed from Steam.
On April 19, fans noticed that numerous Rockstar games had been retired from the Steam store, seemingly at the request of the publisher.
Screenshots showing the large game library unavailable on the platform quickly spread online prompting some panic responses by fans desperately wanting to play the games.
The first report of the games’ removals appeared to come from Twitter user RobotBrush who remarked how Rockstar “just completely f***ed off from Steam.”
looks like rockstar just completely fucked off from steam
all their games are purchase-disabled now pic.twitter.com/8SBOXZKJTe
— lashman (@RobotBrush) April 19, 2021
“All their games are purchase-disabled now,” he added.
- Read More: When is GTA 6 coming out? Rumors, leaks
Others quickly followed, complaining about how they were unable to buy GTA 5 on Steam for whatever reason. Some even were sad to reveal they were planning on buying GTA 5 on the site soon.
Luckily, however, the games returned not too long after. Journalist Jeff Grubb revealed he had reached out to Rockstar for comment on the situation.
I asked Rockstar about this, but looks like it was just a bug. https://t.co/vo6npMYEx7
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) April 19, 2021
“I asked Rockstar about this, but looks like it was just a bug,” he said in a tweet that showed the games returning.
- Read More: How to get free GTA Online 4/20 day rewards
It’s not clear exactly what caused the bug, but it was definitely a strange occurrence that confused quite a lot of fans. The news also came at a weird time for Rockstar.
The next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto 5 is still scheduled for release in 2021, so seeing the PC version of the game pulled from Steam so randomly raised some flags. Especially if the remastered version ends up replacing the standard GTA V on PC.
Seems like Rockstar have been taking their collection of games off Steam. What do you think this could mean? Transition to the Epic Store or exclusivity on their own launcher, perhaps?
— GTABase.com (@GTABase) April 19, 2021
Additionally, of course, there’s still the mystery of the still unannounced GTA 6 causing everything Rockstar-related to find itself under a microscope. As such, some fans even began to speculate the company was planning to transition to its own exclusive launcher.
Luckily, this whole issue was just caused by a bug and the games are back on Steam, but for a brief moment, it seemed like all hell was about to break loose for GTA and Red Dead fans.
