It is no longer possible to purchase Grand Theft Auto IV on Steam, due to its reliance on the no longer supported Games for Windows Live platform. Grand Theft Auto V is one of the best-selling games of all time, but there are still a lot of people who love Niko Bellic’s journey through the criminal underworld of Liberty City.

There have been problems with keeping Grand Theft Auto IV on digital platforms in the past. One of the main issues with the game is the soundtrack, as Rockstar Games has disabled the music in Grand Theft Auto IV in the past. There are limits to how long the licensed songs can remain in games that can be patched and fans can expect similar issues to arise with Grand Theft Auto V in the future.

Grand Theft Auto IV can no longer be purchased on Steam, however, due to its integrated support for Games for Windows Live. The Verge reached out to Rockstar for a response and it has been confirmed that the Rockstar can no longer generate keys in order to sell the game, due to the fact that Microsoft no longer supports Games for Windows Live. Rockstar is currently looking at other options for distributing Grand Theft Auto IV digitally on PC in the future. It’s still possible for people who own Grand Theft Auto IV on PC to continue playing the game on Steam.

Games for Windows Live was a platform that allowed crossplay between PC and Xbox 360 gamers. Microsoft gradually stopped supporting the platform in 2013 in favor of the Microsoft Store, and later, Xbox Game Pass. A lot of the games that supported Games for Windows Live removed its integration over time, but Rockstar never bothered to do it with Grand Theft Auto  IV, leading to the issues involving Steam.

Fans had been speculating as to why Grand Theft Auto IV had been taken off  Steam, with some believing that Rockstar was adding it to its own launcher and would be removing it from other digital platforms. One other rumor was that a remake or remaster of Grand Theft Auto IV and its expansions were being planned, which would make the game available on modern systems and would bypass the music issues for another decade. The issues with Games for Windows Live might make a remake or remaster a more appealing prospect for Rockstar, in the future.

Grand Theft Auto VI is likely Rockstar’s highest priority project at the moment, even though CJ’s voice actor has shot down the rumors about the game being in development. Grand Theft Auto IV is still loved by many fans of the series and it remains to be seen whether Rockstar is willing to put in the time and effort to get in running on Steam.

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Source: The Verge