GTA 5 Liberty City Mod Project Halted

Summary

• A Grand Theft Auto 5 mod recreating Liberty City has been shut down following communication with Rockstar Games.
• Many believe the modders were compelled to cease development.
• Despite this setback, the modding team, World Travel, remains dedicated to future GTA modding projects.

A highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 5 mod, allowing players to revisit Liberty City, has been discontinued. This follows the considerable excitement surrounding the mod's release in 2024.

While some game developers, such as Bethesda, embrace community modding, others take a stricter approach. Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar Games' parent company) are known for their actions against unauthorized modifications. Despite this, dedicated modders persist. Even with the recent closure, the team behind the Liberty City Preservation Project intends to continue their modding work.

World Travel, the modding team, announced the project's termination on their Discord server. They cited "unexpected attention" and subsequent discussions with Rockstar Games as the reason for removal. While specifics remain undisclosed, the team expressed their ongoing passion for GTA modding.

Another GTA Mod Removed

Although World Travel hasn't explicitly confirmed coercion, many suspect the mod's closure resulted from pressure from Rockstar Games. The description of "speaking to Rockstar Games" suggests a seemingly amicable conversation, but it likely involved warnings about potential legal action, such as a DMCA takedown. Given that most modding teams are comprised of volunteers without legal representation, such contact often leads to project termination.

Fans are expressing their disappointment on social media, criticizing Rockstar and Take-Two's aggressive stance towards modding. This frustration is heightened by the absence of Liberty City in the announced GTA 6, which focuses on Vice City. Concerns about potential impact on GTA 4 sales may have motivated Take-Two's action, though this reasoning is disputed by many, as playing the Liberty City mod still requires ownership of GTA 5. Regardless of the reasoning, the mod is no longer available. The hope remains that future projects from World Travel will fare better, though Take-Two's approach to modding doesn't appear likely to change.