Heaven 17 Co-Founder Claims Rockstar Offered $7,500 Buyout for Using Song in GTA 6

It’s safe to assume that Rockstar Games is working on putting together an excellent track list of licensed songs to use in Grand Theft Auto 6, seeing as that’s an area where the series always has high expectations to live up to, but it looks like at least one song that the company intended to use won’t make it into the game. 

British musician Martyn Ware – co-founder of popular 80s synthpop band Heaven 17 – recently revealed on Twitter that he was contacted by Rockstar Games with a $7,500 offer for the usage of the song “Temptation” in the company’s upcoming open world game, which Ware deemed to low and rejected.

Ware pointed to the immense commercial success of Grand Theft Auto 5, which has sold over 200 million units to date, raking in over $8.5 billion in revenue for Rockstar Games. “Ah, but think of the exposure,” Ware wrote. “Go f**k yourself.”

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to launch for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in Fall 2025. The game’s announcement trailer crossed 200 million views in July.