“Go F*ck Yourself”: English Band Slams Rockstar after Company Offers Only $7,500 to Use Its Song in GTA VI

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By Tsing Mui

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Image: Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games, the American video game publisher and parent company of the studio behind some of the world’s most celebrated game franchises, including Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, and Red Dead Redemption, are actually cheapskates, according to the details of a planned licensing deal for GTA VI that Martyn Ware, the keyboardist for English synth-pop band Heaven 17, shared on X last week. Ware, who formed the band in Sheffield in 1980, told Rockstar to “go f*ck yourself” after it offered only $7,500 to use one of its tracks in the new game, which is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2025.

Ware said:

  • “I was recently contacted by my publishers on behalf of Rockstar Games re the possibility of using Temptation on the new Grand Theft Auto 6.”
  • “Naturally excited about the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email re the offer…”
  • “IT WAS $7500 – for a buyout of any future royalties from the game – forever…”
  • “To put this in context, Grand Theft Auto 6 grossed, wait for it…$8.6 BILLION”
  • “Go f*ck yourself”

The original word from Ware:

A copy of Temptation:

GTA publisher Take-Two on the history and success of the series:

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in December, Rockstar Games pioneered the open-world genre of video games with the launch of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001. With each successive blockbuster entry in the series including Grand Theft: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto has become one of the biggest selling, most critically acclaimed and influential properties in all of modern entertainment. The most recent iteration in the series, Grand Theft Auto V, has sold over 190 million units to date. Rockstar Games’ blockbuster western series, Red Dead Redemption has sold over 81 million units worldwide to date, with its most recent release, Red Dead Redemption 2, breaking new ground in fidelity and immersion.

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Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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