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Controversial BBC drama The Gamechangers was broadcast for the first time on Tuesday night, and the subject of the programme – Rockstar Games – weren’t overly impressed with what they saw.
@BBC Was Basil Brush busy? What exactly is this random, made up bollocks?
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 15, 2015
This is a perhaps unsurprising reaction given that Rockstar opted out of playing any part in making the show, which starred Daniel Radcliffe as Sam Houser – the head of Rockstar, which develops Grand Theft Auto.
It was the controversial game that was at the centre of the drama, with the show focusing on the testing times that occurred between the release of the Vice City and San Andreas titles in the series. This was when GTA and Rockstar faced off against former anti-game lawyer Jack Thompson – played by Bill Paxton, who wanted the series banned.
To add drama to the real-life situation, and some context to the above tweet, Rockstar’s holding company Take-Two Interactive went as far as to file a law suit against the BBC in May over the drama, saying that it did not want its “trademarks to be misused”.
The show also received mixed reviews on social media from gaming fans and experts.
As much as I want to enjoy it, the dialogue in #gamechangers is a bit… Sharknado
— Stuart Dredge (@stuartdredge) September 15, 2015
I'm basically watching this to see if Bill Paxton yells 'GAME OVER MAN' at Daniel Radcliffe. I'll be furious either way #gamechangers
— Paul Martinovic (@paulmartinovic) September 15, 2015
#GameChangers was actually terrible. Worth a watch just for the laughs.
— Ross Hornby (@djh3max) September 15, 2015
Grand Theft Auto V, the most recent release in the series, remains the most successful entertainment release of all time – having grossed more than a billion dollars in sales in its first three days.
