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This patch updates the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV to v1.0.6. It removes the need to run the Rockstar Game Social Club application to play the game. The patch also fixes some performance issues, enhances the shadow effects, and provides in-game support for purchasing "The Lost and the Damned" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony" add-on packs. A full list of changes can be seen after the jump. To install the patch, extract all files to a folder and run UpdateTitle.exe.

Download Grand Theft Auto IV v1.0.6 Patch (104 MB)
Check out all Grand Theft Auto IV downloads

When Grand Theft Auto III was released by Rockstar Games and developer DMA Design (later known as Rockstar North) it changed the way games were thought about forever. The "open world" genre effectively started with the PS2 title and its October 2001 debut sold millions of copies, helped make the PS2 the "winner" in last generation's console wars.

The graphics (based on Criterion Games's RenderWare engine) and visual look were a bit simplistic and even a little cartoony in style but it also gave the designers a way to create a vast game world without having to worry about doing highly detailed visuals. Grand Theft Auto III and its two follow ups, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) improved the graphical looks slightly but all three games were built with the PS2 in mind which has relatively low hardware specs. Thus it wasn't hard to port all three games to the PC platform where one can expect users to have rigs that are much higher than the PS2's specs (all three games were released for the PC around six months or so after their debut on the PS2).

With the first patch for Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC now released, Rockstar Games now has plans to hold a online multiplayer event today for folks who might be interested in playing against the development team of the open world action game.

From Noon to 4 pm ET today, you can log into the Rockstar Social Club and play one of the many multiplayer game modes in GTA IV. During that time you might find yourself playing against one of the game's development team members. Their Games For Windows Live gamertags are listed on the Rockstar Social Club web site. Some people who log into the game at any time during this weekend will be eligible to win one of 24 prize packages from Rockstar Games.

The highly anticipated release of the PC port of Grand Theft Auto IV has been met with frustration by many gamers who have bought the title starting today. Gamers, especially those who have downloaded the open world action game via Valve's Steam service, have reported a number of bugs and crashes.

Big Download, in trying to review the game for the site, has come across one of the errors mentioned in a Steam forum post (thanks Shacknews): MMA10, which crashes the game to desktop after seeing the title's copyright screen. The temporary solution is not to sign onto the game's Rockstar Social Club online service. The catch is that while you can play the game in single player it deprives you of its multiplayer features.

Other errors we have seen include missing textures which seem to be solved if you don't have the game at super high (1900x1600) resolutions. Another game-loading error, RMN40, seems to be solved in Windows XP if you update the OS to the recent Service Pack 3 upgrade. Big Download has contacted Rockstar Games' PR folks to get a status report on the publisher's plans to resolve these many issues.