Rockstar Support Home/Grand Theft Auto IV/GTA IV -- PC Troubleshooting

[Updated 11/9/12] Problems with GTA IV/EFLC Activation Keys from Steam or other Digital Sites

Rockstar Games
posted this on July 23, 2012 11:40 am

Question: I activated my copy of Steam version of GTA IV and at first my code seemed to work.  But when I try to connect to GFWL, a Games for Windows Live error appears and tells me my code is invalid.  Help!

Question: Whenever I try to get my GTA IV key on Steam, an error message appears that says "Failed to contact key server." What can I do?

Question: I heard that some of the Steam GTA IV keys are Games for Windows Live redemption tokens that have to be used on the Xbox website, but some people said that these only work on United States accounts. How can I make sure I get a working key?

Question: When I try to use the Steam GTA IV key on the Games for Windows Live website, an error message appears that says "There's a problem with the offer related to this code."  What is the problem and how can I fix it?

Answer: We have received some reports about problems with Steam Grand Theft Auto keys and we are looking into this now.

Update for 9/24/12: This issue should now be resolved. New keys have been assigned to affected Steam accounts.  To force the good key into your account, please verify game cache:
Also ensure that you are running the latest version of Games for Windows Live: http://support.rockstargames.com/entries/479441-Downloading-the-lat... 

Verify integrity of game cache

  1. Load Steam
  2. From the Library section, right-click on the game and select Properties from the menu.
  3. Select the Local files tab and click the Verify integrity of game cache... button.
  4. Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes.
  5. Once the process is completed, the Check Window will automatically exit.
After verifying the game cache, right-click GTA IV in your game library and choose to view the game CD key. This is the key to use in-game during activation.

Update for 11/8/12: We have received some new reports about a new batch of GTA IV keys showing up as invalid when logging into Games for Windows Live.  If this is happening and verifying the game cache does not resolve the issue, please try redeeming the code on Xbox.com.  There have been a few instances in the past where the keys were redemption codes rather than activation codes.  Here is what to do:

  1. Go to Xbox. com and sign in with your Windows Live ID
  2. Go to My Account
  3. Click Redeem Code
  4. Enter the code that Steam provided for GTA IV
  5. Once that is successful, launch Games for Windows Live application and go to downloads
  6. Select GTA IV and choose to view the key
  7. Enter that key in GTA IV 
For this workaround, we have seen some reports about this redemption process only working for US accounts.  We are looking into this now and will update this article as soon as there is more information about a fix.

If there are any further questions or concerns about your serial key, please contact Steam customer support directly to ask about the status of your activation key.

If the issue is still not resolved after contacting Steam, click Submit a Request at the top of this page and provide:

  • Your receipt/invoice for the game
  • The key typed out in the ticket
  • Your case reference # with Microsoft Steam or GFWL support (if applicable)
  • Screenshot of the error 
  • Brief description of the problem
 
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