A mod for GTA 5 was released just a few weeks ago and has already been banned by Rockstar Games. This not only shatters the hopes of many fans but also nullifies years of work.
What kind of mod is it? It is called “Liberty City Preservation Project” and comes from a team of GTA fans who have been working on it for several years. Specifically, the work on the mod began in 2018 – about six years ago.
This is an extensive mod that, as the name suggests, integrates Liberty City into GTA 5. The city from the fourth installment differs in some ways from Los Santos in GTA 5.
While the latter is inspired by sunny Los Angeles, Rockstar clearly based Liberty City on New York. Consequently, everything is a bit grayer and less optimistic. Those who wanted this slightly different atmosphere in GTA 5 could achieve it with the new mod.
It offered the entire map of Liberty City, including pedestrians, traffic, and various weather scenarios. Moreover, there were some improvements in lighting mood and textures.
However, the fun is over, as the mod has been officially banned by Rockstar. And this is despite the fact that much more is supposed to happen regarding mod support in the sequel GTA 6.
A Bitter Refusal
What does the modding team say? On Discord, the mod developer nkjellman spoke up. He announced the end of the project and explained it as follows:
Due to the unexpected attention that our project has received, and after consultation with Rockstar Games, we have decided to discontinue the Liberty City Preservation project. We thank everyone for all the support the project has received and look forward to continuing to pursue our passion for modding the Grand Theft Auto series.
nkjellman via discord.com
It sounds as if the end of the mod was mutually agreed upon in the discussion. However, as fans of the project on Discord and reddit are skeptical about this and believe that Rockstar simply took the mod offline ruthlessly, nkjellman emphasized:
This is not a DMCA (copyright infringement) but a friendly takedown that was mutually agreed upon by all parties involved. There is no negativity between us and Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive.
nkjellman via discord.com
From now on, it is prohibited to share active download links to the mod on the Discord server. Furthermore, the modder advises against using unofficial links to still play the mod.
What does the community say? Some players on reddit are not surprised by the action. After all, it has happened in the past.
- “Yes, it was clear that this would happen… Lesson? Stop using mods that heavily rely on copyrighted intellectual property. Work on them, release them on the internet when they’re done, and then disappear,” suggests Lef4DayZGone.
- oOkukukachuOo agrees: “The moral of the story: Stop giving these projects so much media attention. It’s not good for them. Keep it underground where it belongs until it comes out.”
- “Or even better, stop sacrificing your time for a product that a company has abandoned, because it will never appreciate your effort,” writes Envy661.
Another mod project is Skyblivion, which aims to remake Oblivion in the Skyrim engine. However, there are also concerns about whether Bethesda might intervene soon. Because it cannot be ruled out that an official remake will be announced soon: Documents confirmed a year ago the remake of one of the greatest RPGs of all time – insiders reveal what will be improved
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