Rockstar pulls Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy from PC

PC version of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy includes unlicensed music

Rockstar pulled the PC version of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition from its official store on Friday evening, and customers who already bought the game could no longer play it. It has now returned to the store this morning, and players can once again play it. 

What's the big deal? Turns out the game shipped with music that Rockstar no longer has a license for. While the music is never played in-game, the audio data is still there. There is also apparently unobfuscated source code present in the game files.

• Rockstar Games launcher went offline shortly after Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy launched
• PC version pulled from digital sale and rendered unplayable
• Data miners have found developer comments in game code

Not-so-definitive: Aside from the unlicensed music and less-than-graceful launch, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition has also provoked considerable mirth thanks to its bizarre NPC models, missing textures, misspellings, and hog wild weather effects.

License to sequel: Take-Two appears unfazed, however: CEO Strauss Zelnick believes Grand Theft Auto has the potential to be a generation-spanning franchise like James Bond, and that the right amount of anticipation and hype will bring the gamers to the table every time.

Which extreme sports athlete sued Acclaim over BMX XXX? 

a) Mat Hoffman
b) Travis Pastrana
c) Dave Mirra
d) Shaun Murray

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

War never changes, but Pokémon does

Battlefield 2042 is out this week, alongside Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year Edition and last but not least, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl for Switch.

Tuesday – November 16th

• Grow: Song of the Evertree for PC, NS, PS4, XBO
• Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story for PC, NS
• Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One for PC, PS5, XSX
• Surviving the Aftermath for NS
• The Waylanders for PC

Wednesday – November 17th

• Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier for iOS, Android
• Klang 2 for NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX

Thursday – November 18th

• Kid A Mnesia Exhibition for PC, Mac, PS5
• Microsoft Flight Simulator: Game of the Year Edition for PC, XSX

Friday – November 19th

• Battlefield 2042 for PC, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX
• Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl for NS

Nintendo Switch regains top US spot

There are a lot of Xbox exclusives in the works, and one of them is Project Pentiment by Josh Sawyer and Obsidian Entertainment.

The OLED model has put the Switch back at the top of the US hardware sales charts, shifting no less than 711,000 units during October, with 314,000 of those being OLED models.

According to the NPD group, that makes Switch the best-selling console in terms of both revenue and total units in October, although PlayStation 5 remains the top seller of 2021 in terms of revenue.

OLED boost: “We see this as a strong start for the Nintendo Switch OLED model and a very strong indicator of the performance we can expect as we go into the holiday season,” said Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser.

Forecast down: Sales were still down 3% compared to last October according to Bowser. Nintendo has cut its sales forecast by 1,500,000 units since the global semiconductor shortage constrains Nintendo's manufacturing capacity.

Empire of Sin keys for budding gangsters

Crime doesn't pay – unless you're good at it, and that's every sensible and enterprising crime entrepreneur needs lackeys. Sign up for our Empire of Sin Giveaway for PC and PlayStation 4, and start building your own goon army!

Prohibition, racketeering, money laundering – it’s the Chicago dream. Empire of Sin blends real-time strategy and turn-based tactical combat as you climb the ranks in the sleazy criminal underworld.

Brave Browser rewards you for surfing

Maybe your internet connection is fast, but what about your browser? The Brave Browser is built from the ground up for speed, privacy and providing an ad-free Internet.

You can opt-in for ads that respect your privacy, and even earn rewards. It’s quick and easy to use, featuring the same comforts and conveniences you expect from a modern browser.

• Microsoft definitely making a new 1 vs. 100 game according to Jeff Grubb
• Playdate handheld delayed until early next year after a “battery tragedy” affects recent pre-orders
• Niantic apologizes for erroneous PokéStops and Gyms that “don’t comply” with Pokémon Go inclusion rules
• Space battle cinematic kicks off Rocket League season 5 which is presumably a game about ‘carball’ and not space battles
• Rumours say Beyond Good & Evil 2 is in crisis and lacks ‘creative vision’ making it likely to be cancelled

Which extreme sports athlete sued Acclaim over BMX XXX?

ANSWER: Dave Mirra!

They say sex sells, but BMX XXX did not. Sure, the raunchy sports game was both unfunny, unsexy, and included desperate attention-grabbing attempts such as footage of strippers plying their trade. It was never meant to be such a vulgar game, however.

BMX XXX started out as an entry in the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX series, but the project wasn't working out and didn't satisfy the licensor's quality control. Dave Mirra even sued Acclaim to make sure there was no way he could be associated with the game.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!