GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 were accidentally delisted from Steam

GTA 5
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

A number of Rockstar Games titles were accidentally pulled from Steam, leading to the temporary re-listing of classic racing game Midnight Club 2.

As noted on SteamDB (via PC Gamer), a number of Rockstar games, including GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and LA Noire, were "retired" from Steam last night, meaning that users were no longer able to purchase them. After a brief period of confusion, however, all of the games were returned to the platform with no apparent changes, and PC Gamer reports that the companies involved have confirmed that the change was accidental.

That wasn't the only accident, however, as players noticed that Midnight Club 2, a cult street racing game released in 2003 but delisted from Steam in 2018, possibly as a result of issues pertaining to soundtrack copyrighting, was re-listed onto the platform for a brief period. It was swiftly taken back down, but not before a few players were able to grab it, spiking the game's concurrent player count to its highest figure since 2017.

While the mistake appears to have been resolved without issue, if this had been an intentional move, it wouldn't be the first time that some of Rockstar's high-profile efforts have disappeared from PC storefronts. In January 2020, the studio said it was forced to remove GTA 4 from Steam as a result of the closure of Games for Windows Live.

While Rockstar's back catalog might have temporarily disappeared, that doesn't mean that the company is abandoning its older games. In fact, new updates for both L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3 have added all of those games' DLC to the base games at no extra cost.

Those reinstated games should help pass some of the time until we learn more about GTA 6.

CATEGORIES
Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

Read more
Lester sitting at a computer in some artwork for GTA Online
Some GTA 5 players can't bring their characters to the new PC upgrade, and the open-world game's mixed Steam reviews are hammering FPS caps and a lack of text chat
GTA 4
A month after the GTA 5 mod recreating GTA 4 was shut down, its modders are now "uncertain if this takedown request is genuine"
Grand Taking Ages
GTA 6 parody previously pulled from PlayStation store now set to release on Steam after being updated "to emphasize its unique direction," dev wants Sony to reconsider
The protagonist of GTA 4 holding his hand out in front of a Diner
GTA 5 mod that added GTA 4's Liberty City hit with a "friendly takedown" after contact from Rockstar, but the modders insist "there is no negativity between us" and the official devs
GTA Vice City
Former GTA dev weighs in on Rockstar's attempt to silence Vice City mod that ports the whole game to GTA 4: "This is what companies are supposed to do"
Vice City
Rockstar literally just took down a Liberty City GTA 5 mod, but that's not stopping these modders porting Vice City into GTA 4 - and they might just get away with it
Latest in Action
Rift Apart
Retiring Insomniac boss says developers should still tackle new genres, but it's much riskier these days due to time and money
Dollman being buckled into a seat in Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima left "a number of clues" in the new Death Stranding 2 trailer, including hints of a day/night cycle
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Ubisoft shareholder plans protest in response to mismanagement, Assassin's Creed Shadows delays, and alleged acquisition talks with Microsoft and EA
Key art for Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered showing Shay Patrick Cormac in a black and red outfit that's a cross between Assassin and Templar armor, with his ship The Morrigan behind him
Assassin's Creed Shadows can wait – I spent 40 hours mopping up the map in the one game in the series everyone skipped
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
The titular Bayonetta in Bayonetta 2
Devil May Cry and Bayonetta veteran Hideki Kamiya is still leaning on Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami's wisdom at new studio Clovers: "I have always made decisions based on his teachings"
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"