Rockstar have reportedly shelved plans for remasters of Red Dead Redemption and GTAIV after the poor reception of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition. The trilogy, which released late last year, was a technical disaster and heavily criticised despite high sales.
Game Informer’s Blake Hester published a detailed report all about the Bully 2 that might have been and what led to the studio developing the sequel’s downfall. In short, Rockstar New England was pulled in multiple directions to the point where Bully 2 was no longer the focus of the developers who worked there.
Rockstar New England, which was purchased by Rockstar when the former was Mad Doc Software and was responsible for the next-gen remaster of the first Bully at the time, had ambitious plans for the sequel, a bigger, more characterized game that could stand alongside L.A. Noire and Grand Theft Auto 4 as a grand tentpole release worthy of the Rockstar name.
It was not to be, though, as the studio got pulled in multiple directions, called on to assist with projects like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 and immersed in the crunch culture that came with working on those games. This caused many developers at Rockstar New England to leave, but the studio was also hit with layoffs, ensuring that Bully 2 wouldn’t see the light of day. It’s a shame, too, because the game was “six to eight hours playable”, though not shippable at that point.
Update, April 27: Grand Theft Auto IV's soundtrack-skewering update is upon us, and fans have collected the full list of affected songs.
Grand Theft Auto IV came out when I was at the height of my classic rock phase, which means I spent a lot of time listening to Liberty Rock Radio. To this day, I can't hear ELO's Evil Woman without seeing the long drive across the bridge from Dukes to Algonquin. Now any future replays of GTA IV are going to sound a lot less nostalgic.
Grand Theft Auto V is the most profitable entertainment product ever.
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GTA 4 returns to Steam as a 'Complete Edition' - without some key features
Rockstar removed GTA 4 from Steam because of Games for Windows Live
GTA 4 gets its first patch in six years, making it play nice with Windows 8 and 10
GTA IV released eight years ago, but it just got a new patch on Steam, making it play nice with modern operating systems, as well as fixing some bugs and issuing some further optimisation work.
Check out our list of the best old games for more videogame blasts from the past.
RELATED LINKS:
GTA 4 returns to Steam as a 'Complete Edition' - without some key features
Rockstar removed GTA 4 from Steam because of Games for Windows Live
GTA IV soundtrack update nixes Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, and dozens more
Grand Theft Auto IV was recently taken off Steam because of issues with Games for Windows Live support. However, it now seems the open-world game's heading back to Valve's platform.
As spotted by Nibel on Twitter, the Steam page for the fourth major title in Rockstar's long-running GTA series now reveals it's on its way back - but as the 'Complete Edition', and without some of the game's online features. "Starting March 19, 2020, Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will replace both Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City wherever it is currently digitally available", the page reads.
Following this update, multiplayer mode, leaderboards, and GFWL support will no longer be included in the game, though. And that's not all - the RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM, and Vice City FM radio stations have also now been removed. Sad news if you're a fan of the best reggae and '80s tunes Liberty City has to offer.
RELATED LINKS:
Rockstar removed GTA 4 from Steam because of Games for Windows Live
GTA IV soundtrack update nixes Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, and dozens more
GTA 4 gets its first patch in six years, making it play nice with Windows 8 and 10