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The world of PC gaming has gotten a bit more crowded. Publisher Rockstar Games announced a new PC launcher, and downloading it nets you a free copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The Rockstar Games Launcher is a one-stop-shop for everything Rockstar Games, from launching titles like L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3 to purchasing Shark Cards, Grand Theft Auto V‘s premium in-game currency. Rockstar’s new PC launcher will feature cloud saves, automatic game updates, support for disc-based and digital games (even if they’re bought from another storefront), and more. San Andreas is offered for free for a limited time when you download the launcher, which is free to do as well. It’s unclear how this launcher will impact Rockstar’s games on Steam.
Rockstar isn’t the only video game publisher to dive into the PC launcher scene. Fortnite publisher Epic Games introduced the Epic Game Store in December 2018 and has quickly garnered both praise from developers regarding Epic’s generous revenue split and complains from some gamers over Epic acquiring exclusives like Metro Exodus and Untitled Goose Game.
The company was accused of tax evasion earlier this summer. According to a report by investigative thinktank Tax Watch UK, the whole of Rockstar paid zero corporation tax in the UK from 2009 to 2018, despite Grand Theft Auto V reaching an estimated total $6 billion USD in its lifetime.
