Rockstar sold pirated copies of its games on Steam, triggering anti-piracy measures

 New 3rd party mod fixes Manhunt bugs caused by Rockstar DRM

Rockstar sold pirated copies of its games on Steam, triggering anti-piracy measures

Facepalm: Rockstar's Surprising Reliance on Pirates for Digital Re-Releases

Rockstar Games is renowned for its strong stance against users who mod or pirate its games. However, recent investigations have unveiled a rather unexpected twist in the tale, exposing the company's inadvertent dependence on pirates for digital re-releases. This reliance has led to Rockstar's anti-piracy measures spectacularly backfiring, particularly in the Steam version of Manhunt.

A comprehensive report by YouTuber Vadim M sheds light on the long-standing issues plaguing the Steam edition of Manhunt. These issues stem from anti-piracy measures triggered by a third-party crack that Rockstar employed to counter the original retail version's DRM. Shockingly, official digital copies of Max Payne 2 and Midnight Club II were found to contain similar pirated code.

It's not uncommon for PC games to incorporate programming that hampers the gameplay experience when it detects tampering with copy protection. For instance, Manhunt deliberately introduces numerous glitches rendering the game unwinnable if its SecuROM DRM is absent. Razor 1911, a veteran hacking group, quickly circumvented Rockstar's SecuROM DRM shortly after the game's 2004 disc release. So effective was Razor's crack that Rockstar ended up using it for Manhunt's 2008 Steam digital launch, all without anyone realizing it. However, the use of unofficial anti-DRM tools in the Steam edition of Max Payne 2 came to light in 2010, prompting Rockstar to release patches aimed at concealing the evidence in both titles.

Ironically, Rockstar's attempt to cover its tracks inadvertently disrupted measures it had put in place to ensure the Razor crack remained compatible with recent Windows versions, consequently activating the anti-piracy bugs. Consequently, the Steam release of Manhunt has remained unplayable without third-party mods for an astonishing 13 years. What makes this situation even more absurd is that players who pirated Manhunt never encountered Rockstar's traps, resulting in a spectacular backfire. The very measures designed to thwart pirates ended up adversely affecting legitimate customers. Fortunately, a tester named Fire_Head discovered these anti-piracy measures and has since released an updated patch to eliminate them.

Vadim's video, which exposed Razor's signature on the Manhunt executable in a hex editor, prompted developer Silent to dig deeper and uncover the same signature in Midnight Club II, a game that is no longer available on Steam. This discovery explained the game's compatibility with Windows Vista. This practice of using pirated versions for re-releases likely occurs more frequently than many realize.

According to developer Ben Golus, multiple studios have openly admitted to employing pirated versions of games for re-releases. Teams tasked with porting games to new platforms and storefronts often lack access to the original materials or development staff. Moreover, many companies lack the infrastructure or required procedures to preserve the final source code, often leading to its loss. In such scenarios, pirates have ironically proven to be the most effective means of preservation.