GTA IV returns to Steam without multiplayer as a Complete Edition on March 19
At the beginning of this year, developer Rockstar removed the game Grand Theft Auto IV from Valve’s game platform Steam, but the game will be available again from March 19. This concerns the Complete Edition, which, among other things, lacks the multiplayer mode.
In an update on the Steam page of GTA IV, Rockstar writes that a number of changes are being made. Specifically, this means that on March 19, Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will replace the digital versions of both Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. This Complete Edition will also be available via the Rockstar Games Launcher. Players who already own one of the two titles mentioned can continue to use their existing save games in the Complete Edition. This update has a number of consequences, such as the lack of multiplayer mode and leaderboards. Also, the radio stations RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM and Vice City FM will be temporarily unavailable in the Complete Edition.
Furthermore, Games for Windows Live is missing in this new edition. This online game service was introduced by Microsoft in 2007 so that users could connect their PCs to Microsoft Live; that’s the name of Microsoft’s effort to port the Xbox Live service to all kinds of platforms. The lack of Games for Windows Live in the Complete Edition is not surprising, as the loss of support for this service was what caused GTA IV to disappear from Steam. Although it also contributes to the fact that Rockstar has apparently failed to remove Games for Windows Live by means of a patch, as other developers have done with a number of their games. Due to the loss of this service, Rockstar is calling on players to create an account at account.xbox.com.
Users who currently have GTA IV or Episodes installed will receive an update in March that will transform their installation into the Complete Edition. For users of the regular GTA IV, that means an update of about 6GB; for Episodes from Liberty City players, that requires 22GB. It is an automatic update, which will change the name of both titles in the Steam library in GTA IV: Complete Edition, regardless of whether players own the DLC. New activations from players attempting to install current copies of GTA IV may be interrupted until the Complete Edition is available.