Patches and updates are just a natural part of the modern gaming landscape. While patches ranging from new content to hotfixes are commonplace, Rockstar recently had pull the uncommon practice of rolling back an update.
Yesterday, Grand Theft Auto 4 received a surprise update to restore the music that was removed earlier this year. Upon installing the update, users across Reddit and Steam forums pointed out that their save data was unreadable.
Publisher and developer Rockstar Games reversed the update which has restored the Grand Theft Auto 4 saves showing that none of the data was corrupted through the update. A representative from Rockstar acknowledged that the update "temporarily gave the appearance that save files were destroyed and the update was recalled."
Grand Theft Auto 4 originally released in 2008 but 2020 has seen a resurgence of its place in the news cycle. In January, the game disappeared from Steam making it unavailable for purchase. It was only reinstated onto the platform two months later in March with the clumsy Games For Windows Live integration now removed along with three radio stations. While this recent update was set to restore those three stations, players will have to wait until Rockstar solves the issue.
For fans of Grand Theft Auto 4, to learn that the music previously removed would be returning is great news. Music licenses have been a sore point in video game re-releases and are often one of the major reasons why some games don't get a remaster treatment, or at least one that omits a key piece of world building. The most recent victim of music license issues causing frustration is with the upcoming Tony Hawk Pro-Skater 1+2 remaster/remake set for release later this year. Of the iconic soundtrack, five songs will not be featured in the updated version.
Rockstar has not announced when the update for Grand Theft Auto 4 will be available.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is available now on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Source: PCGamer