Just Like That, It Was Gone
In a strange turn of events, GTA IV is no longer available on Steam. There has been no statement from either Steam or Rockstar about this. So it still remains unclear why this has happened. Despite its relative age, GTA IV still remains a somewhat popular game all things considered. So it would not exactly add up if Steam chose to just remove the title all together because it was not selling well. Especially since there are much older GTA games that are still available.
The other explanation is that Rockstar has chosen to remove their game and put it on their own launcher. Rockstar recently came out with its own launcher for the PC release of Red Dead Redemption 2. Perhaps they are going to slowly move their older games over there instead of keeping them on Steam.
The removal of GTA IV should not worry anyone that has already bought the game. Just like any other title, GTA IV will still remain in your games library regardless of whether or not you have it downloaded on your PC. You should still be able to play it whenever you like.
Depending on who you ask GTA IV is the best in the series. There is, of course, a lot of competition between Sand Andreas and GTA V but the argument could definitely be made. For the time GTA IV made a ton of improvements on the game mechanics and graphics. It really did lay the groundwork for games like GTA V. Not to mention the story is arguably the most intense and compelling. All of the characters are fun, interesting and believable despite how ridiculous some of them can be. If you haven’t had the chance, make sure you play GTA IV when it’s back on Steam.