Heaven 17 bandmate has been left appalled after Grand Theft Auto VI makers offered him less that £6000 to use his biggest hit in their new game.
Martyn Ware has expressed his fury at the abysmal offer Rockstar Games sent him asking if they could buy out his hit Temptation in GTA 6.
This is despite the fact that Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games revealed earlier this year that the franchise has earned more than £6.4billion since 2008.
In a post on X he wrote: ‘I was recently contacted by my publishers on behalf of Rockstar Games re the possibility of using Temptation on the new Grand Theft Auto 6.
‘Naturally excited about the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email re the offer…’
‘IT WAS $7500 (£5700) – 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 f*** yourself.’
The latest edition of the GTA series is expected to be released in 2025 more than a decade after its predecessor – GTA V – was released in September 2013.
The trailer, which was leaked in December 2023, managed to smash not only one but three Guinness World Records in its first day.
The video was viewed 90,421,491 times in its first day on YouTube.
Sticking to its roots, the teaser shows women having cash thrown over their bodies in strip clubs, posing in bikinis and twerking in skimpy clothes on top of moving cars.
The hotly-anticipated blockbuster game appearing to feature cameos from some real-life infamous characters.
Pals David Jones, Russell Kay, Steve Hammond and Mike Dailly came together in 1995 to create the first Grand Theft Auto, slaving in a two-room office above a small shop in the city centre that sold baby clothes.
Mr Dailly – who was behind the 1991 classic puzzler Lemmings – had been playing with the idea of creating a ‘virtual 3D city’ that would allow gamers to roam freely and do as they pleased.
The initial idea was a far cry from the outrageous, debauched crime shooter that Grand Theft Auto has become famous for, filled with sex and unfettered violence.
Even outside of the gaming sphere, it’s holding its own – being the most viewed non-music video on the platform.
This achievement sees it surpass the famous YouTuber Mr Best, whose most popular video – Every Country On Earth Fights For $250,000 – had 59.4 million views in its first day.
The GTA video also achieved the highest like count for a YouTube trailer of a video game at 8.9 million.
Guinness World Records account posted on X: ‘The GTA VI trailer has broken three official records, including becoming the most watched video on YouTube in 24 hours for a non-music video. Who else can’t wait to head back to Vice City?’
Rockstar Games posted on X at the time: ‘Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube.’
It’s not the first time the developer has had problems with aspects of the game being leaked. Last year, development footage of the game was released in a data breach.
The early edition, GTA V, is the best selling game of all time behind Minecraft, but it’s been a decade since it was released.
But it could be overtaken by the new game, which doesn’t yet have an official title – just Grand Theft Auto VI.