A Russian modding team, Revolution Team, has released its "GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition" mod despite Take-Two Interactive's efforts to remove related YouTube content. This ambitious project transplants the world, cutscenes, and missions of 2002's GTA Vice City into the GTA 4 engine (2008).
The modders' YouTube channel was deleted without warning, resulting in the loss of hundreds of hours of streamed development footage and a significant portion of their community. Despite this setback, they released the mod as planned, offering it as a standalone installer rather than requiring a legitimate GTA 4 copy, a change made to ensure wider accessibility.
Revolution Team insists the mod is entirely non-commercial, created by fans for fans, and expresses gratitude to the original game's developers (not the publisher). They hope their project might influence Take-Two's approach to modding initiatives.
Take-Two's history of taking down mods is well-documented, including instances involving AI-powered GTA 5 mods, a Red Dead Redemption 2 VR mod, and the Liberty City Preservation Project. Interestingly, Take-Two has sometimes hired modders for Rockstar Games, and some removed mods have later been incorporated into official remasters.
Obbe Vermeij, a former Rockstar Games technical director, defended Take-Two's actions, stating that the company is protecting its business interests. He points out that the Vice City Nextgen Edition mod could compete with the GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, and the Liberty City Preservation Project could interfere with a potential GTA 4 remaster. He suggests that the best outcome is for Take-Two to permit mods that don't directly impact their commercial ventures.
The future of the "GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition" mod remains uncertain, with the question of whether Take-Two will pursue its removal still unanswered.
