Liberty City GTA 5 Mod Shut Down Following Contact with Rockstar Games
A highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 5 mod recreating Liberty City has been discontinued. The news comes after the mod, released in 2024, gained significant popularity.
While some game developers embrace modding, others take a stricter approach. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games' parent company, has a history of taking action against mods, similar to Nintendo. Despite this, dedicated modding communities persist. The team behind the "Liberty City Preservation Project," known as World Travel, announced the shutdown on their Discord server. They cited "unexpected attention" and subsequent communication with Rockstar Games as the reason for removing the mod. While specifics remain undisclosed, the team expressed their continued passion for GTA modding.
Another Modding Project Ends
Although World Travel hasn't explicitly confirmed coercion, many players suspect the mod's closure resulted from pressure from Rockstar Games. The phrasing suggests a discussion, but it's likely the team received a warning about potential legal repercussions, such as a DMCA takedown. Independent modders, often lacking legal representation, usually comply with such warnings to avoid legal battles.
The community's reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with many criticizing Rockstar and Take-Two for their aggressive stance on modding. This is particularly frustrating given the absence of Liberty City in the upcoming GTA 6, which currently features Vice City. While Take-Two's concern might stem from potential GTA 4 sales impact, this argument is widely contested, as playing the mod still requires owning GTA 5, and GTA 4 is an older title. Regardless of the reasoning, the mod is inaccessible. The modding community hopes future projects from World Travel will fare better, but Take-Two's approach to modding doesn't appear likely to change.
