Summary
- A GTA 5 mod featuring Liberty City was shut down after "speaking to Rockstar Games."
- Many players suspect that the modders were forced to discontinue the project.
- Despite setbacks, the modding team remains passionate and aims to continue modding for the game.
An incredible Grand Theft Auto 5 mod that allowed players to revisit Liberty City has unfortunately been discontinued. This disappointing news comes after the mod garnered significant attention and excitement back in 2024.
While some game companies, such as Bethesda, are completely open to public modding of their games, others, including Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar Games' parent company), have consistently taken a more restrictive approach. Despite the legal challenges posed by some publishers, modders continue their efforts, and even with this setback, the team behind the mod remains committed to their passion for modding GTA.
The modding team behind GTA 5's Liberty City Preservation Project, known as World Travel, announced the discontinuation of their mod via their Discord channel. They cited "unexpected attention" and mentioned that after "speaking to Rockstar Games," they decided to take the mod down. The team did not provide further details about the conversation but reaffirmed their passion for modding GTA.
Another GTA Mod Bites the Dust
While World Travel did not explicitly state that they were forced to shut down the mod, many players suspect this was the case. The phrase "speaking to Rockstar Games" suggests a more amicable conversation, but it's likely that the team was warned about potential legal action, such as a DMCA takedown, if they continued to distribute the mod. Given that most mods are created by volunteers without legal support, such warnings often lead to the closure of mod 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 rumored to feature Vice City rather than Liberty City. Some speculate that Rockstar's concern might be related to potential impacts on GTA 4 sales, though this logic is contested since GTA 4 is aging and playing the mod still requires owning GTA 5. Despite the publisher's reasoning, the mod is no longer available. Fans can only hope that World Travel's future GTA projects will fare better, but it seems unlikely that Take-Two's approach to mods will change in the near future.
