Heaven 17 musicians denied a track for GTA 6 due to the paltry fee offered by Rockstar

Rockstar has proposed including the song "Temptation" by the band Heaven 17 in the soundtrack for GTA 6. The musicians were pleased, but they told the company to take a hike when they saw the offered amount.

The Grand Theft Auto games are tremendously popular in the USA and around the world. GTA 5 alone has sold over 200 million copies. It stands as one of the best-selling games of all time, and its publishers could have been more generous, especially considering the fame of a well-known and older band. The song "Temptation" was released in 1983 and became a hit.

In one of his posts on X, musician and composer Martyn Ware mentions that Rockstar reached out to him about using the song in the game. He was thrilled, particularly because he anticipated a substantial financial benefit:

“Recently, my publishers contacted me on behalf of Rockstar Games regarding the possibility of using 'Temptation' in the new Grand Theft Auto 6 game. Of course, excited by the massive wealth that was about to come my way, I scrolled to the end of the email to find out the proposal…”

Ware calmed his emotions and read the email to the end. In his second post, he writes:

“IT WAS $7500 — for a buyout of any future royalties from the game — forever…”

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

Ah, but think of the exposure…

Go fuck yourself

— Martyn Ware 🦉 (@martynware) September 7, 2024

Therefore, it seems we won’t hear "Temptation" in GTA 6. Upon its release, the album "The Luxury Gap" by the band achieved platinum status largely thanks to "Temptation." The song has stood the test of time as one of Heaven 17's most memorable tracks, alongside other popular songs like "Let Me Go" and "Come Live." The GTA series is known for featuring many memorable musical tracks.

Moreover, some believe that GTA 6 could trigger a price increase in AAA games. Michael Douse, the publishing director at Larian Studios, the developer behind Baldur's Gate 3, speculates that the game could be priced at $150, which is double the typical cost of AAA projects.

Source: Dexerto