GTA 5 Latest Update Removes Content, Confirming The End Of An Era

Published Sep 16, 2026, 9:50 AM EDT

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Grand Theft Auto 5 is still one of the biggest games of all time. On any given day, tens of thousands of people play it, including GTA Online. It's become a massive business for Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two, to the point that it could fund several game studios with just a week's earnings.

Because GTA 5 is still so popular, eagle-eyed fans have noticed a recent revelation that doesn't bode well for its longevity. On X, fans are in an uproar over a recent content removal, but there's a clear reason[via The Gamer].

Thanks to Twitter user Tex2, folks are starting to see that GTA 5's soundtrack may have more rights issues going forward. Moloko's "The Time Is Now" song has been fully removed from Non-Stop-Pop FM, thanks to a new update for the GTA 5 Enhanced Edition on PC.

This has happened to Grand Theft Auto before, specifically Grand Theft Auto 4, in 2018. Here is Rockstar's statement back then:

"Due to music licensing restrictions, we are required to remove certain songs from the in-game soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto IV and its Episodes, in particular a large portion of the Russian pop station, Vladivostok FM. However we are replacing some of those songs with a new set of songs on that station. We will update our customer support website with new information as soon as it is available."

For what it's worth, the song seems to still be available in other editions of the game, but that could change as updates roll out beyond PC. Many have also pointed out that the Xbox 360 and PS3 editions of the game will likely never be changed, or will be much easier to circumvent without a patch.

Source: Rockstar

Naturally, fans are already confused as to why this is happening: "Removing songs should NOT be a thing, games should be remain preserved how they were intended to be, and I don’t wanna hear your licensed...excuses, redo the...laws then"

Others are bringing up the preservation conversation, which is hitting even harder now that Sony is getting out of the physical disc game: "If the song (or any other licensed content) was part of the original game (story mode) and you replay the game on console using the original disc without letting it download any updates, you'd still have everything."

If you're a GTA 5 fan on PC, be aware that future updates could remove content like this. We've reached out to Rockstar to see if this decision is a mistake or is meant to be permanent.

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