Rockstar Launches its Own PC Launcher

You know, one of the reasons why people hate the Epic Game Store so much -- on top of it just being a crappy service that uses enormous financial sway to pull highly-desired games from more well-loved services – is that it’s another online marketplace and client in a PC gaming market absolutely cluttered with them. Between it, Steam, GOG, Uplay, EA Access, the Blizzard Client, and more, the last thing gamers need is another game launcher on their computer, taking up space and dividing their library.

...So anyway, Rockstar Games has just announced their own PC games launcher.

Called the Rockstar Games Launcher (very creative), it’s arguably more put-together than the Epic Game Store, but perhaps a bit less expansive. It has a client, cloud saves, and automatic updates. You can also buy Rockstar games there, although the library is limited to Grand Theft Auto V (and associated Shark Card transactions), L.A. Noire: Complete Edition, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Max Payne 3: Complete Edition, and Bully: Scholarship Edition.

Also worth note that existing data will transfer to the launcher: if you already have Max Payne 3 and GTA V on your PC, for example, once you install the launcher you’ll be able to pick up and play as if nothing’s changed. And if it helps entice you to download this launcher, for the time being it comes packaged with a free copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. So if you need to play that classic, this is probably your best chance.

As for why they’re doing this, we can only guess. Having a place to sell their games without the 30 percent cut that Steam takes is the obvious answer, but I suspect that this will also be a way to try to catch cheaters – and, in the worst case scenario, stop modding.