Rockstar have confirmed that they should lower plenty of songs from Grand Theft Auto IV as a consequence of music licenses expiring, although they may shuffle in new songs to switch at the very least some. Probably count on a brand new patch to chop the previous and whack within the new. The Russian pop station Vladivostok FM will take the brunt of the cuts, which will even have an effect on GTA 4’s Episodes From Liberty City standalone expansions. Rockstar have wanted to do that with GTA earlier than and it’s nonetheless bizarre to chop up previous copies of video games, however at the very least this time they’re taping it again collectively afterwards.
Kotaku UK first reported a hearsay of impending cuts on Monday, and Rockstar yesterday confirmed it’s true. Kotaku UK’s supply stated the cuts would occur on April 26th, although Rockstar haven’t confirmed that element and don’t say when the change will occur. Rockstar defined:
“Due to music licensing restrictions, we are required to remove certain songs from the in-game soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto IV and its Episodes, in particular a large portion of the Russian pop station, Vladivostok FM. However we are replacing some of those songs with a new set of songs on that station. We will update our customer support website with new information as soon as it is available.”
They don’t say precisely which songs are being eliminated. I all the time loved cruising to Glukoza’s Schweine so I hope that’s secure. Songs may be key elements of how we bear in mind video games, setting a tone and tied to explicit experiences, so it’s all the time a disgrace to have that futzed with.
While Rockstar are patching the sport, perhaps they might think about eradicating Games For Windows – Live, Microsoft’s loathsome deserted DRM. The fantastic PCGamingWiki can assist you get it operating if you need one final cruise with the unique radio.
When expiring licenses made Rockstar take away some songs from GTA: Vice City in 2012, on Steam they left the previous model obtainable for individuals who already had it, then created a brand new model with out the expired songs for brand new purchasers. That was a pleasant answer. However, when licenses expired in GTA: San Andreas in 2014, they only removed the affected songs for everyone. I’d be unsurprised if Rockstar simply lower the expiring songs from all copies once more, however at the very least they’re including some replacements this time.
Disclosure: I do know a number of of us who labored on GTA IV, together with my very own flatmate (and former RPS columnist) Cara Ellison. I do know she additionally voiced some random crowd traces however I’ve by no means heard her. She’s on the market, someplace, in Liberty City.
