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GTA IV and Episodes from Liberty City will soon be available for purchase again, deprived of a number of features. The titles disappeared last month because Microsoft was unable to generate any further activation keys after the discontinuation of Games for Windows Live (GfWL).
This rare problem, in which a publisher is negatively affected by the termination of a DRM service, will soon be resolved. From March 19, GTA IV and Episodes from Liberty City will be bundled in Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition, which can be purchased as normal again through all shops that previously sold GTA IV. In addition, the game will be sold for the first time in Rockstar Launcher, Rockstar’s own distribution platform.
Playable with losses
The winners of the promotion are players who own either GTA IV or Episodes from Liberty City on Steam. You will receive a free upgrade to the full version and thus the missing part. Games activated through Games for Windows Live can be upgraded to the Complete Edition by linking to a Rockstar Social Club account. Copies that have not yet been activated can be redeemed on Steam, as the platform redeems old GfWL keys. Scores of the old titles are fully compatible with the new version.
But there are also losses. In addition to Games for Windows Live, which hardly any player will cry for tears, the complete version of the multiplayer mode and the rankings are missing. Rockstar does not provide a reason for the absence, but it is likely that Games for Windows Live was used for matchmaking. At least temporarily, the RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM and Vice City FM radio stations will also be missing. Here there is probably a lack of valid licenses for the pieces of music used, which – which explains the temporary absence of the stations – will have to be replaced by alternatives. In the same way, Rockstar had kept Vladivostok FM alive in April 2018.
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