Rockstar explains GTA IV's DRM

By Tom Bramwell Published 29 November, 2008

SecuROM included, but no install limit.

Grand Theft Auto IV for PC will come equipped with DRM software to protect the game from naughty pirates, Rockstar has said, but there's no limit on concurrent installations.

You should also only have to authenticate it using the internet once, even if you uninstall and reinstall it at a later date, although this is done by leaving a few registry settings in place once the game's removed, which might prove unpopular...

"We have worked very hard to ensure that our solutions do not persecute the legitimate players of our games," an unnamed Rockstar spokesperson told IGN.

"Implemented correctly, SecuROM is the most effective form of disc-based copy protection and allows us to manage authenticity on a global level for Grand Theft Auto IV."

The game installs a number of applications, Rockstar said, including Games for Windows, Adobe Flash, Internet Explorer, SecuROM and the Rockstar Games Social Club software.

Rockstar also explained that it was using SecuROM "for protecting our EXE until street date has passed", and that authentication would require an internet-enabled PC - although if your gaming PC somehow isn't internet-enabled, you will be able to complete the authentication progress on any other net-connected PC.

Should you wish to install the game on multiple machines, that's fine too, although you will always need the disc in the drive to play.

DRM has been an increasingly sore point among PC gamers this year thanks to installation limits on games like Spore and pre-release concerns about Red Alert 3.

Grand Theft Auto IV for PC is due out on 3rd December and you can read our review on Monday. In the meantime, check out our GTA IV PC gamepage for previews, videos and more.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Altrezia #1 3 years ago

    I really do not see why companies do this. Is it just to please investors or something? It certainly doesn't stop piracy.

  • cyberpunk2199 #2 3 years ago

    Was going to be a definite purchase, however I will now be steering clear of this one thanks to Rockstars implementation of draconian DRM (securerom) which is essentially a trojan. A damn shame !!

  • Waffleaber #3 3 years ago

    Well they've addressed a good number of concerns about multiple installs etc and having the disk in to play the game isn't a massive drawback apart from for LAN.

    There's still the central problem that it just doesn't work though, I'm sure Rockstar would love to believe it can really protect their "EXE until street date has passed" but i'm sure piratebay will be having another GTA IV day in the week before release.

    Don't get me wrong I haven't got any better ideas but for "the most effective form of disc-based copy protection" it's rubbish.

  • BastoJ #4 3 years ago

    They should just use that company who specialise in uploading 'tainted' versions of movies (en masse, to smother any real copies until a few weeks after release)*. Obviously with a game they could do it even easier with less sign of it being a fake by including the first few missions etc... but after that leave them out (or even have a message saying 'to continue past this demo, please purchase the game').

    * Yes I know real copies will still be downloaded, but its relatively effective against the casual torrenter.

  • Nithron #5 3 years ago

    Now, see, this isn't too bad. You can still install it as much as you want, it just checks that you have a valid copy. I don't really have a problem with this.

    They really need to ditch online activation though, it's just asking for trouble. How many people are gonna be unable to play it due to server problems, or because they're trying to install it when they're having connection problems? Which is, y'know, when you're most likely to wanna play an offline game...

  • Unofficial #6 3 years ago

    As Rockstar indicated, the primary reason why companies are using DRM is to protect their investment for as long as possible up to release date.

    The worst case scenario for a company is that their multi-million dollar investment/high profile game is downloaded tens of thousands of times weeks before the release date.

    Mass Effect was considered a relative success in that sense in that it wasnt successfully cracked until a day before release. Publishers are generally realistic about expectations. Having no DRM is not a risk that most are willing to take, especially for high profile and big budget games. The potential losses are too great.

    I think it goes to show the sad state of things when holding out until the day before release is considered a success.

  • Segnit #7 3 years ago

    SecuROM

  • dacicus #8 3 years ago

    Hopefully, low sales we'll teach them their lesson. With EA being sued (over 10 lawsuits related to this DRM already), you would think that the big wigs would learn their lesson. Sadly, no...

  • DFawkes #9 3 years ago

    It's the limited installs I hate, so I could live with this. As long as it doesn't literally break my machine like Stardock did.

  • tobs #10 3 years ago

    Yeh! Well done realistic publishers, soon you'll stop piracy completely. Then you'll recover all the lost sales... oh hang on, you won't recover them because 99% of pirates have no intention of paying for the game whatsoever. They weren't lost because you never had them in the first place. Oh dear, you inadvertently killed the PC games market off at the same time. Never mind, everyone can play on consoles and you'll make your money back on those titles... oh, hang on again - the PC gamers are not migrating but abandoning playing video games all together. Whoops!

  • Zomoniac #11 3 years ago

    "Implemented correctly, SecuROM is the most effective form of disc-based copy protection and allows us to manage authenticity on a global level for Grand Theft Auto IV."

    Is there a SINGLE piece of software that uses SecuROM that you can't easily download an unprotected version of from a pirate site? No. So if the most effective form of protection has a success rate of 0%, stop fucking trying.

    Cunts.

  • Bitkari #12 3 years ago

    STEAL THIS GAME.

  • Lemming81 #13 3 years ago

    Buy it from Steam. no secuROM and no excuse to steal it. Stop whining.

  • WickedDeeJ #14 3 years ago

    @Lemming81: Wrong, the Steam version will also install SecuROM on your machine - it's right there in the sourced article.

  • lockload #15 3 years ago

    "They should just use that company who specialise in uploading 'tainted' versions of movies"

    Im pretty sure thats what microsoft did with gears of war 2, they then banned the consoles..

  • Jamiesan #16 3 years ago

    So if GTA4 on the pc is using Games for Windows, does that mean pc players and 360 players can join the same matches? Since even xbox community games makers have the ability to do that with XNA game studio...

    oh yeah and secuROM blows, etc

    I dunno how steam predownloading works, but surely if you could predownload a game except for the exe (the exe will only download on launch day) - if that was the only distribution method for a game then it would be a lot harder to crack before day 1, surely? But then all the people with £1000 gaming rigs but no internet connection would complain...

  • IneptPercy #17 3 years ago

    So basically nobody (or almost) would even notice this unless they told you...

    I love how everybody loves to jump on the anti DRM bandwagon and the "it broke my mates PC" brigade, in the real world is makes no difference to the PC its on and as mentioned you wouldn't know its there unless they told you.

    Yes it might not stop everybody but I wouldn't say its 0% effective, it will cut down 'casual piracy' and also with a crack being needed it will increase odds of viruses etc which does put some people off.

  • Chufty #18 3 years ago

    "The game installs a number of applications, Rockstar said, including Games for Windows, Adobe Flash, Internet Explorer, SecuROM and the Rockstar Games Social Club software."

    Fail.

  • dacicus #19 3 years ago

    Steam already has a couple of game that are having vary forms of protection: Crysis Warhead, STALKER - Clear Sky, Far Cry 2 and a few others. The Steam forums are full of complaints about the new policies of Steam, after all we've expected games delivered without cumbersome DRM...
    And maybe I would have gone along with online activation for GTA4, but read carefully: you still need a DVD in drive after you activate your game. So it's a no go. Online activation and DVD-check after game's activation is ano go. Almost the same protection as Alone in the Dark 5, but AITD5 had limited installs on top of the online activation and the DVD-check.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/08 @ 07:00

  • smelly #20 3 years ago

    Oh look a youtube link showing hoiw it broke "someone elses" pc.


    What some of you guys dont understand is, yes games will be pirated anyway.. BUT without DRM every man and his mum will be exchanging copied discs.

    When I was at school my mum (?!?) and her friends had a piracy ring where they exchanged pirated cassettes between each other for us to play.. "hey look smelly.. i got you a new game!"

    .. Sure drm wont stop "hardcore" piracy.. but it DOES stop casual piracy. When it became so easy to copy ps1 games or dreamcast games (just needed to do a disc copy) - EVERYONE was doing it... If you have to go looking for cracks, etc etc.. it puts an extra "step" in the process which stops the "casual" pirates from doing it...

    But please.. feel free to ignore this obvious fact and go back to telling us how drm broke your toaster...

  • SeesThroughAll #21 3 years ago

    @smelly:
    How about a simpler copy protection, that doesn't require internet connection?
    How about lowering the price, so that everybody and their mum will think twice before going through the trouble of pirating the game?

    DRM doesn't stop shit.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/08 @ 18:42

  • smelly #22 3 years ago

    gawd who made you mod?

    *sigh*

    Anyhuws.. yes.. lets lower the price of game.. that'll stop piracy!!! Except it wont. Games could cost 5 quid a copy - and still people would pirate them.

    but i feel like we're going around in circles again.. so it's better to just agree.. Drm is evil, drm killed my pc, Securom is the new starforce the wii is shit, etc etc etc.

  • Skurmedel #23 3 years ago

    "Implemented correctly, SecuROM is the most effective form of disc-based copy protection and allows us to manage authenticity on a global level for Grand Theft Auto IV."

    That lasts longer than 12 hours?

  • paketep #24 3 years ago

    SecuROM = No sale

    SecuROM + GfWL + Rockstar Social Club + Internet Activation + Internet reactivaction with hardware changes + Disk in drive + loads of BS = No sale + WTF is wrong with you, Rockstar?

    They really don't want us to buy the game.

  • dacicus #25 3 years ago

    [link url=http://www.xbox360fanboy.com /2008/06/26/microsoft-releases-tool-to-fix-xbox-360-drm/
    ]http://ww w.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/06/26/...[/link]
    [link url=http://games.ge arlive.com/index.php/playfeed/article/the-perils-of-drm-xbox -live-arcade-08101545/
    ]http://ga mes.gearlive.com/index.php/play...[/link]
    So if DRM is present on consoles and draconian DRM is present on PC, how long it will take until we get back to boardgames? The MMORPG market is only a fraction from the entire gaming market and with Sony and Microsoft pushing DRM on consoles, how long it will take until a small collapse? Already many of the console games are following the PC example: unfinished, unpolished games with killing game bugs. Assassin Creed and Dark Messiah are just two big titles that they are coming to my mind....

  • Collymilad #26 3 years ago

    "So basically nobody (or almost) would even notice this unless they told you...

    I love how everybody loves to jump on the anti DRM bandwagon and the "it broke my mates PC" brigade, in the real world is makes no difference to the PC its on and as mentioned you wouldn't know its there unless they told you.

    Yes it might not stop everybody but I wouldn't say its 0% effective, it will cut down 'casual piracy' and also with a crack being needed it will increase odds of viruses etc which does put some people off."

    So "casual pirates" dont have a net connection? All it takes is a few people to crack it and put it up on Newsgroups etc. DRM = useless.

  • MoFo #27 3 years ago

    Well I don't know about copy protection stopping piracy or nowt but for me the simple fact that this'll install a whole bunch of extra software on my machine is enough to put me off. I'm sick of having to reinstall windows because my machine has got bogged down with various things loading on boot up and slowing the machine to a crawl. Simple fact of the matter is:

    You shouldn't need to install some extra software to play games online.

    and

    Why the feck do I need to install Flash to play a video game?

  • IneptPercy #28 3 years ago

    I know DRM is very much present on my PC as I can find it in my registry etc, Effect on my PC = nil.

    I have many DRM 'riddled' games and still haven't had any problems.

    I am glad to hear from somebody whos PC it did cause a problem on, can I ask what the problem was?

    As for casual pirates, I did mean more the type of people mentioned by somebody else passing games games around easily as anybody could do it.

    I know of 2 people (who I do regard as reasonably intelligent) who have had problems installing hacked games, problems range from not knowing what to do with a disc image, how to decompress a file (RAR/ZAAIP etc), not knowing how to disbale UAC in vista, not knowing where or how to put a patch in.

    Yes to many people these are simply things, but some people won't know what they are doing and eventually give up.

    There is a difference between literally a simply copy, pass on, install and downloading, installing and cracking.

    Out of interest is GTA IV on the torrents yet in its PC form? will be interesting to see how long it holds out.

  • SentientNr6 #29 3 years ago

    Well Starforce bricked my PC, or at least my DVD burner. Every disc I wrote failed to play correctly.
    Mind you these discs were backups of data not gamecopies.
    I had to reinstall windows to get it working again.
    Since then I am really careful with DRM. I don't mind paying 50 euros for a game. I do mind paying 50 euros for something that annoys me. So this year I bought half the number of games I normally bought.
    Oh and I also hate all that software that thinks it's an OS and needs constant updating like adobe and quicktime etc...
    it's hard to build a lean mean gaming machine these days.

  • uk_john #30 3 years ago

    It's not Securerom I am bothered by as much as I am that I understand that when playing the single player game on PC you can only save if connected to Windows Live! No if that is not 1984'ish, I don't know what is- and that, to me, is way above any other DRM issue! I will get this game cheap on ebay secondhand, and only so I know no extra money will go to Microsoft/Rockstar for this onerous demands on legitimate gamers!

    For the first time (beyond no cd patches to protect my investment), I will be trying to get a crack that means I will never have to connect to Windows Live to play the single player game. If that makes me some type of crook in MS/Rockstar's eyes,then so be it - for it was them themselves that forced me down this road!

    PS: Just found out a won a copy on ebay for £9 ($15) secondhand. I presume between the DRM an buggy PC version, this game isn't holding it's price very well - not a good sign for MS/Rockstar!