Grand Theft Auto 4 Songs Get Yanked After Licenses Expire

Even though there were warnings earlier this month indicating that it was bound to happen, licensed songs have officially started disappearing from Grand Theft Auto IV, as a new update appears to be wiping them away from existence.

Based on this report from Kotaku, a new patch is going live for all versions of the game starting today, and being replaced by lesser known songs. The reason for their removal? Pretty much the same thing that caused some songs to be removed from previously released Rock Band games -- a loss of license.

While speaking with Rockstar, Kotaku learned that the station that would probably get hit the hardest is the Vladivostok FM station, where all the songs were removed, save for one from Seryoga. This means the disappearance of classic favorites like Glukoza's "Schweine" and Ruslana's "Wild Dances." And while those may not be immediately recognizable, there are some that are -- such as David Bowie's "Fascination," which is also long gone.

A few folks over at the GTA Forums have begun posting lists of what all was removed, and, along with the above songs, we're also going to be missing out on songs like Fat Joe's "Crackhouse" and The Smashing Pumpkins' classic "1979," among others.

There are some songs that remain, though, including three Kanye West tracks that appear to have survived the digital onslaught.

Some players have suggested playing the game offline to keep the soundtrack the way it is, and that method seems to be working for some. This includes physical copies of the game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (digital will be automatically updated, it seems). But eventually, don't be surprised if an update slips through the cracks and changes the way you listen to the game.

It isn't the end of the world, though. Thanks to services like Spotify, you can set up your own custom playlist to sit in the background while playing a round of Grand Theft Auto IV. That could actually be a better way to go, as your tunes will blare even if you're not riding around in the car. And blasting a helicopter with a rocket launcher while listening to "Fascination" is surprisingly fun, to say the least.

And the game is still as fun as ever, even after all these years and the changes that are occurring. So don't discount it too much, yeah?

Grand Theft Auto IV is available now for PC, Xbox 360 (it's also Xbox One compatible) and PlayStation 3.

(Hat tip to Kotaku for the info!)