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 follows the mod's considerable popularity in 2024. While some game developers embrace modding, others, like Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar Games' parent company), frequently take action against fan-made projects.
The modding team, World Travel, behind the "Liberty City Preservation Project," announced the shutdown on their Discord server. They cited "unexpected attention" and subsequent discussions with Rockstar Games as the reason for removing the mod. While the specifics remain undisclosed, the team expressed continued dedication to GTA modding, highlighting it as their passion.
Another Casualty of Aggressive Mod Policies
Although World Travel hasn't explicitly confirmed coercion, many players suspect the mod's closure resulted from legal pressure. The phrasing suggests a seemingly amicable conversation, but it's highly probable Rockstar Games issued a warning about potential legal repercussions, such as a DMCA takedown. Independent modders, often lacking legal representation, typically comply with such warnings to avoid costly litigation.
The mod's discontinuation has sparked considerable backlash on social media, with many criticizing Rockstar and Take-Two's aggressive stance on modding. While concerns about impacting GTA 6 sales (which currently features Vice City) or GTA 4 sales might be cited, this reasoning is widely disputed. Playing the Liberty City mod still requires owning GTA 5, making the argument less compelling. Regardless of the reasoning, the mod is unavailable, leaving fans disappointed. The future of World Travel's modding endeavors remains uncertain, but Take-Two's approach to modding doesn't appear likely to change.
