In a shocking turn of events, Rockstar, the renowned video game developer responsible for smash-hit franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, is now under scrutiny for allegedly relying on pirated copies of their own games for Steam re-releases. This revelation was brought to light by popular gaming YouTuber Vadim M.
Vadim M asserts that Rockstar has been offering illicit copies of several of their titles, including Midnight Club 2, Manhunt, and Max Payne 2, on the Steam platform. These tampered versions effectively bypass their built-in anti-piracy measures, thereby enabling further piracy.
Further investigations revealed a surprising twist. It appears that the hacking group Razor 1911 had previously cracked Rockstar’s game Manhunt so expertly that Rockstar used this pirated copy when they re-released the title on Steam in 2008. “This, though, was discovered in 2010 in the form of the piracy group’s tags,” Vadim M mentioned in his video.
Developer and modder Silent confirmed that similar identifying markers from Razor 1911 were also present in other Rockstar games, like Max Payne 2 and Midnight Club II. “The pirated version of the game being sold on Steam is why it wasn’t compatible with Windows Vista,” Silent claimed. Following these revelations, Rockstar took steps to obscure the markers by releasing updates for both Manhunt and Max Payne 2.
The irony of the situation is that Rockstar’s alleged actions have led to a host of issues for legitimate purchasers of these games. Problems range from games crashing to compatibility issues with certain operating systems. Specifically, players of the re-released Manhunt have reported permanent door locks and crashes when attempting to pick up health items.
While this news has the potential to seriously harm Rockstar’s reputation, it also calls into question the ethical standards of one of the gaming industry’s most prominent players. The situation remains under investigation, but if Vadim M’s claims are substantiated, it could be a significant setback for Rockstar.