Rockstar sells pirated PS2 racing classic on Steam

Recently, the Rockstar Games, renowned game developer, found itself at the center of an unusual debate. Players discovered that the version of Midnight Club 2 available on Steam contained subscriptions associated with a crack of the title.

The modder known as Silent made the discovery while investigating the files. He found the signature of ‘RAZOR 1911‘, a group of crackers famous for making pirated copies of various titles available.

OH FOR CHRIST’S SAKE https://t.co/y9jLN61VOf pic.twitter.com/vx8yDcz1B3

— Silent (@__silent_) September 3, 2023

But why would the company choose to sell a cracked version of its own game? One theory suggests that the developer wanted to avoid the trouble of removing its old DRM protection, opting for the easy way out. Another possibility is that the original had compatibility issues with newer operating systems at the time, such as Windows Vista.

Midnight Club 2 wasn’t the only

Source: Rockstar

Curiously, Midnight Club 2 is not the only Rockstar title embroiled in similar controversies. The company was also accused of selling cracked copies of Manhunt e Max Payne 2 on Steam. All of them had problems when running, many of which were not caused by the pirated version, but rather by conflicts between the DRM native to the Valve platform and the game itself.

The gaming community reacted with surprise and outrage to these revelations. Many point to the hypocrisy of the developer, which, on the one hand, condemns piracy and takes strict measures against mods, while, on the other, it seems to benefit from this to preserve and sell its own games.

The situation highlights a larger debate about preservation and the need for piracy in certain situations. While some companies see it as a threat, others argue that it could play a crucial role in preserving older titles that might otherwise be lost to time.