Rockstar Video games has a popularity for creating a number of the most influential video video games in historical past. Through the years, the studio has outlined whole genres and set new requirements for open-world gameplay. Nevertheless, not all Rockstar video games can be found for buy at the moment. If somebody searches for sure titles on Rockstar’s retailer, Steam, or the Xbox Retailer at the moment, they’ll discover that many legendary entries have been eliminated.
7 Hardest Rockstar Games, Ranked
Lots of Rockstar’s video games are straightforward to choose up and play, however not all of them are a stroll within the park on the subject of total problem.
This example creates a niche in gaming historical past and makes it tough for brand new followers to expertise a number of the best works by Rockstar Games. These subsequent video games have disappeared for a few causes, together with licensing points. Followers who need to play these lacking classics are sometimes left with only a few authorized decisions. They could have to trace down costly bodily discs or discover unique {hardware} simply to see what made these Rockstar video games so particular within the first place.
Manhunt 2
The Controversial Stealth Sequel Misplaced To Censorship
- Focuses on a darkish, psychological story involving human experimentation.
- Pulled from shops as a consequence of heavy censorship points and long-running controversy.
Manhunt 2 is a psychological stealth horror recreation constructed round rigidity, worry, and survival. The sport follows Daniel Lamb, a person who wakes up inside a secret analysis facility with no clear reminiscence of his previous. He quickly realizes that he’s trapped in a violent experiment and is being hunted. The story slowly reveals that Daniel’s thoughts is fractured and far of what he experiences might not be solely actual. There isn’t any open world, no massive map to discover freely, and little or no steerage. All the pieces feels closed in and violent. Even in spite of everything these years, Manhunt 2 remains the darkest and most violent game Rockstar has ever made.
Manhunt 2 turned broadly identified not only for the way it performed, however for the response it precipitated. When it was first launched in 2007 on PlayStation 2, PSP, and Nintendo Wii, the sport confronted critical issues with rankings boards in a number of nations. Some variations have been censored, whereas others have been delayed or blocked from sale altogether. The violence, mixed with the psychological themes, positioned the sport underneath heavy scrutiny. Even after launch, it remained a controversial game. This historical past explains why gamers can not purchase Manhunt 2 at the moment. Possession of Manhunt 2 now largely will depend on used bodily copies or legacy downloads obtained years in the past.
Midnight Membership 3: DUB Version Remix
The Rockstar Road Racer
- An expanded model of Midnight Membership 3 with extra automobiles, cities, and music.
- An arcadey, wild, high-speed racer.
Midnight Membership 3: DUB Version Remix is an expanded model of Midnight Membership 3, launched in 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It’s remembered as certainly one of Rockstar’s hottest arcade racing video games, identified for its open-city road racing, licensed automobiles, and a great soundtrack. It is extra about over-the-top high-speed racing than sensible, skill-based driving. Regardless of its reputation, the sport is now not bought by official digital channels.
10 Rockstar Games That Can Be Called Masterpieces
Whether or not it is Grand Theft Auto, Pink Lifeless Redemption, or Max Payne, Rockstar Video games appears to create bar-raising brilliance wherever it goes.
The primary motive behind its disappearance is licensing. The sport depends closely on real-world automobile manufacturers (it options as much as 24 autos) and 25 licensed songs, so it’s straightforward to know why licensing points would come up over time.
Midnight Membership: LA Remix
The Moveable Midnight Membership Left Behind
- A PSP-exclusive remix that trims down Midnight Membership: Los Angeles.
- Options an unique map of Tokyo that was not accessible in the usual console model.
Midnight Club: L.A. Remix is a singular entry within the Midnight Club racing series made solely for the PlayStation Moveable. The concept was to maintain the fun of open-world road racing alive on a handheld system. As such, the core gameplay stays true to Midnight Membership’s roots, as gamers race by metropolis streets, customise actual licensed automobiles and bikes, and compete in opposition to powerful AI crews.
The sport combines two principal metropolis environments: a portion of Los Angeles primarily based on the map from Midnight Membership 2, and a second metropolis, Tokyo, which makes use of the format from Midnight Membership 3: DUB Version Remix. Sadly, the sport largely relied on licenses for automobiles, music, and cities, so renewal points are probably one of many the explanation why it was faraway from shops.
Forgotten Tank-Primarily based Shooter
- Entails utilizing tanks to combat robots on three completely different alien planets.
- It was as soon as a free recreation from Rockstar.
Wild Metallic Nation is a vehicle-based motion recreation constructed round quick, chaotic tank fight slightly than characters on foot. The participant controls closely armed machines and fights throughout extensive, open environments stuffed with hostile robotic enemies. The setting is science fiction, with battles happening on unusual planets as an alternative of sensible areas. The sport was developed by DMA Design, a studio that might later be renamed Rockstar North. It first launched on Home windows PCs in 1999, a number of years earlier than Rockstar turned broadly identified for open-world crime video games. It was later launched for the Dreamcast underneath the shortened title Wild Metallic. Each variations stored the identical core concept: aggressive, arcade-style fight with a robust deal with autos slightly than storytelling. Multiplayer modes have been additionally included, permitting gamers to battle one another utilizing completely different tanks.
Wild Metallic Nation later gained extra consideration when Rockstar made the PC model accessible as a free obtain in 2004 underneath its “Rockstar Classics” label. This was an official launch, permitting gamers to obtain the total recreation immediately from Rockstar’s web site. Years later, the sport briefly appeared on the market on Steam, however that availability didn’t final. The free Rockstar Classics obtain was ultimately eliminated, and the Steam model was delisted round 2013. Since then, Rockstar has not introduced the sport again to any storefront, nor has it introduced plans for a re-release or remaster.
Grand Theft Auto 2
The Last High-Down Gangster Basic
- Basic, top-down GTA set in Wherever Metropolis.
- The identical mixture of driving, legal actions, and on-foot motion that outlined the collection.
Grand Theft Auto 2 arrived in 1999 because the second recreation in a franchise that might later remodel the online game world. As a substitute of the total 3D worlds that turned commonplace in later GTA titles, this recreation used a top-down digicam angle, the place the participant sees the motion from above. It positioned gamers in a fictional city setting referred to as Wherever Metropolis, a gritty place dominated by rival legal gangs. The meat of the sport is identical mixture of driving and on-foot motion that has outlined the collection. Gamers settle for missions, steal autos, ship items, trigger chaos, and attempt to survive whereas rising by the ranks of native underworld figures. It additionally allowed as much as six gamers to partake in PC multiplayer, a uncommon function within the late 90s.
Gamers trying to purchase Grand Theft Auto 2 at the moment face a really completely different actuality than within the early digital period. As a result of there isn’t an energetic official sale, the one authorized approach to personal GTA 2 now could be by bodily copies from older PC or console releases purchased second-hand. Rockstar doesn’t promote the sport anymore, and there’s no confirmed plan to deliver it again in any official format.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice Metropolis Tales
The Empire-Constructing Prequel
- A PSP prequel that expanded Vice Metropolis’s crime story.
- Gameplay intently follows the normal GTA construction.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories started as a handheld title and later grew right into a full console expertise, increasing on some of the beloved cities within the GTA universe. To underline simply how profitable Grand Theft Auto: Vice Metropolis Tales was, it was one of many best-selling PSP video games ever, promoting over 4.5 million copies simply after two years of launch. It was first launched in 2006 on the PlayStation Moveable, with a PlayStation 2 model following in 2007. The sport is ready in 1984 and facilities on Victor Vance, a disciplined soldier whose try and stay an trustworthy life slowly unravels. Circumstances push him into Vice Metropolis’s legal underworld, the place survival will depend on energy, cash, and management.
Why You Should Replay Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in 2026
As the brand new 12 months begins, there are a variety of nice causes for gamers to offer Rockstar’s traditional Grand Theft Auto: Vice Metropolis a recent spin in 2026.
The gameplay intently follows the normal GTA construction. Gamers can roam the town, steal autos, tackle story missions, and interact in facet actions scattered throughout the map. What units Vice Metropolis Tales aside is its deal with constructing and managing legal operations. Gamers can take over companies, defend them from rival assaults, and use them to generate earnings. Regardless of its significance to the collection, Vice Metropolis Tales is now not accessible for buy at the moment.
Midnight Membership 2
A Difficult Arcade Racer
- Early open-city arcade racer with a robust underground vibe.
- This was the primary recreation within the collection to function bikes and particular driving talents.
Midnight Club 2 is an arcade-style road racing recreation launched in 2003, again when Rockstar was nonetheless constructing its popularity outdoors of Grand Theft Auto. The sport is principally about racing elsewhere, so drivers aren’t restricted to fastened tracks. As a substitute of following a single route, racers are free to weave by streets, alleyways, and even rooftops nonetheless they select. Midnight Membership 2 was additionally the primary Midnight Membership recreation to supply gamers the selection of driving bikes. On consoles, gamers might race facet by facet in split-screen co-op, whereas the PC model supported on-line multiplayer, one thing that was nonetheless comparatively unusual for racing video games on the time.
At launch, the sport appeared on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PCs. The open-city design, the number of races, and the way in which it let gamers blaze by environments with out inflexible circuits have been very uncommon at the moment. The soundtrack and visible fashion additionally enhanced Midnight Membership 2’s energetic, carefree racing expertise that was fairly completely different from simulation racers and helped outline the texture of the early Midnight Membership collection. Through the years, Midnight Membership 2 turned more durable to purchase by official digital shops. The Rockstar racing recreation was even accessible on Steam years in the past, however now gamers can’t get it anyplace besides second-hand shops.
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These Rockstar video games can initially be sluggish at instances, however quickly ramp as much as the excellent, adrenaline-pumping motion the developer is understood for.


