Rockstar used securom for the original disc release
Razor (an infamous piracy group) cracked the game shortly after release but only for Windows XP (Vista didn't exist yet)
Rockstar released the game on Steam "without securom" but in reality is just using Razor's crack
Fans eventually (like a decade later) realize there's Razor signatures in the executable on Steam
Rockstar pushes an update with a new executable, however this wasn't properly tested and is broken due to how the anti-piracy acts.
Either lost the source code, or didn't have the expertise/time to fix it properly.
I'm pretty sure they just don't care. This was easy and made money.
Low effort so they don’t need to bypass the ancient DRM and still sell it
Nintendo did the same thing. I don't remember the exact details, but they took a pirated copy of NES Super Mario Bros and were reselling it on another platform. As much as a dislike Nintendo and Take-Two/Rockstar for their business practices I can understand that it's probably easier to just take back "stolen" and modified code and use it for themselves instead of repeating the process of getting around old copyright BS in order to resell the game.
It's scummy, but I get it.
No, Nintendo didn't.
Tldr: Nintendo outsourced the work for dumping NES ROMs and developing a NES emulator for GameCube and that contractor added the standard headers to dumps they made from original cartridges provided by Nintendo. Someone saw the headers and drew conclusions.
I don't quite understand, provided that's true... Why would they do that?
The video linked in the Twitter thread explains it near the end but I'll summarize.
Rockstar used securom for the original disc release
Razor (an infamous piracy group) cracked the game shortly after release but only for Windows XP (Vista didn't exist yet)
Rockstar released the game on Steam "without securom" but in reality is just using Razor's crack
Fans eventually (like a decade later) realize there's Razor signatures in the executable on Steam
Rockstar pushes an update with a new executable, however this wasn't properly tested and is broken due to how the anti-piracy acts.
The game launches but similar to Arkham Asylum's "broken" grappling hook or Serious Sam's invincible scorpion enemies it messes with the player and doesn't function correctly on purpose.
Really interesting video and once again brings up the ethics of stealing from pirates' works as other comments have mentioned.
The ethics are about releasing broken games and then not fixing them while still taking money.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=WfDg7BidsY4&
https://piped.video/oA0wuw7zsYA?t=364
https://piped.video/watch?v=e91q5BtlxK0
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
Either lost the source code, or didn't have the expertise/time to fix it properly.
I'm pretty sure they just don't care. This was easy and made money.
Low effort so they don’t need to bypass the ancient DRM and still sell it
Nintendo did the same thing. I don't remember the exact details, but they took a pirated copy of NES Super Mario Bros and were reselling it on another platform. As much as a dislike Nintendo and Take-Two/Rockstar for their business practices I can understand that it's probably easier to just take back "stolen" and modified code and use it for themselves instead of repeating the process of getting around old copyright BS in order to resell the game.
It's scummy, but I get it.
No, Nintendo didn't.
Tldr: Nintendo outsourced the work for dumping NES ROMs and developing a NES emulator for GameCube and that contractor added the standard headers to dumps they made from original cartridges provided by Nintendo. Someone saw the headers and drew conclusions.
Long read: https://www.resetera.com/threads/tomohiro-kawase-mightve-been-hired-by-nintendo-to-put-rom-headers-into-vc-updated-dec-1-2018.64755/#post-13593223