GTA 5 Liberty City Mod Shut Down

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 popularity in 2024. While some game developers embrace modding, others, like Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive, are known for aggressive takedown actions.

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 passion for GTA modding.

Another Modding Casualty

Although World Travel avoided explicitly stating coercion, many players suspect the mod's closure resulted from legal pressure. Contact from Rockstar Games likely involved warnings about potential legal action, such as a DMCA takedown. Given the volunteer nature of most modding teams and lack of legal representation, such contact often leads to project termination.

Fan reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with many criticizing Rockstar and Take-Two's aggressive stance towards modding. This is particularly frustrating given the absence of Liberty City in the announced GTA 6 setting (only Vice City has been revealed). While Take-Two's concern might stem from potential GTA 4 sales impact, this argument is widely disputed. Playing the Liberty City mod still requires owning GTA 5, making the impact negligible.

Despite the setback, World Travel intends to pursue future GTA modding projects. However, Take-Two's approach to modding doesn't appear likely to change, leaving the future of community-created content uncertain.