Rockstar has released its own game launcher

Grand Theft Auto 5 — (Image credit: Rockstar)

Not wanting to be left behind, Rockstar is getting into the launcher racket. The Rockstar Games Launcher snuck out today, kicking things off by giving away a copy of GTA San Andreas.

The launcher features cloud saves, a shop and automatic updates. The prices are the same as Steam and there's not really much reason to download it at the moment, unless you've not already got San Andreas. It's not a tempting offer.

You'll need to sign in with your Rockstar Social Club login, which you'll already have if you played GTA 5 on PC. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Social Club and launcher becoming further integrated. Right now you can use it to post photos, videos and jobs, as well as looking for new crews, all of which could possibly be done via the launcher.

I don't mind having a few launchers on my desktop, but developer-specific ones are just a nuisance that I only ever click past. Nobody really wants them, but it looks like they're going to keep coming.

Now, why would you release a PC launcher unless you were about to put something new on it? Probably lots of reasons, but I'm going to take this as a sign that Red Dead Redemption 2 will soon be announced on PC.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.