Rockstar Games has this week rolled out a new game launcher for PC gamers, and to encourage more downloads, it's offering a free game for a limited time.
The Rockstar Games Launcher is a free piece of software created to bring together all your Rockstar games in one place on Windows. It doesn't matter where you purchased those games from, be they physical copies or digital downloads, the launcher will detect each game on your system and offer a quick way to launch them.
On top of that, Rockstar is promising automatic updates, cloud saves for each title, and of course the ability to purchase more Rockstar titles directly from the launcher. For now, only some Rockstar games are supported, with those that aren't including Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto 2, Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Manhunt, and Midnight Club 2.
If you need an extra incentive to entice a download, how about a free game? For a limited time, Rockstar will gift you a free copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on PC once you have the launcher up and running on your system. San Andreas currently costs $15 on Steam, so it's a nice freebie if you don't already own the game.
By offering a launcher, Rockstar has the opportunity to gain direct access to gamers, which will come in very handy next time it prepares to launch a new game, while at the same time offering an easy way to sell directly to customers.