Summary
- A GTA 5 mod featuring Liberty City was discontinued after discussions with Rockstar Games.
- Many players believe the modders were compelled to stop the project due to legal threats.
- Despite this setback, the modding team remains dedicated and plans to continue creating mods for the game.
An exciting Grand Theft Auto 5 mod that enabled players to explore Liberty City has been sadly discontinued. This news comes after the mod garnered significant attention and excitement in 2024.
While some game developers, such as Bethesda, embrace community modding, others, like Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar Games' parent company), frequently shut down mods. Despite the legal challenges posed by some publishers, modders persist in their efforts. Even with this recent setback, the team behind the mod remains committed to their passion for modding GTA.
The modding group, World Travel, responsible for the Liberty City Preservation Project, announced the discontinuation of their mod on their Discord channel. They cited "unexpected attention" and subsequent discussions with Rockstar Games as the reasons for pulling the mod. While the team did not provide further details on the nature of these discussions, they emphasized their ongoing interest in modding GTA, describing it as their "passion."
Another GTA Mod Bites the Dust
Although World Travel did not explicitly state they were forced to discontinue the mod, many players suspect that legal pressures were involved. The term "speaking to Rockstar Games" suggests a conversation, but it's likely that the team received a warning about potential legal action, such as a DMCA takedown. Given that most mods are created by volunteers without legal support, such warnings often lead to the immediate cessation of projects.
Fans of the Liberty City mod have expressed their frustration on social media, criticizing Rockstar and Take-Two for their aggressive stance against mods. The discontent is heightened by the fact that GTA 6 is not expected to feature Liberty City, only showcasing Vice City and its surroundings. Some speculate that Rockstar might have been concerned about the mod affecting GTA 4 sales, though this argument is contested, as GTA 4 is aging and the mod still requires a copy of GTA 5 to function. Despite the reasoning behind the publisher's actions, the mod is no longer available. Fans hope that future projects from World Travel will fare better, but it appears that Take-Two's approach to mods is unlikely to change soon.
