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 due to pressure from Rockstar.
- Despite this setback, the modding team, World Travel, remains dedicated to creating mods for GTA 5.
A highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 5 mod, the Liberty City Preservation Project, allowing players to revisit Liberty City, has been discontinued. This follows the considerable excitement surrounding the mod's 2024 release.
While some game developers, such as Bethesda, embrace community modding, others take a stricter approach. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games' parent company, and Nintendo are known for their aggressive stances against unauthorized modifications. Despite this, dedicated modders persist, and the team behind the Liberty City Preservation Project intends to continue modding, citing their passion for the game.
World Travel, the modding team, announced the project's closure on their Discord server, citing "unexpected attention" and subsequent discussions with Rockstar Games. While specifics remain undisclosed, the team emphasized their ongoing interest in GTA modding.
Another GTA Mod Meets its End
Although World Travel hasn't explicitly confirmed being forced to shut down, given past precedents, this is the prevailing assumption among players. The phrasing of "speaking to Rockstar Games" suggests a seemingly amicable conversation, but it's likely the team received warnings about potential legal repercussions, such as a DMCA takedown, for continued public distribution. Given the volunteer nature of most modding teams and their lack of legal representation, such contact often results in immediate project termination.
Disappointment is widespread among fans of the Liberty City Preservation Project. Many have criticized Rockstar and Take-Two on social media for their aggressive anti-modding policies. This criticism is heightened by the absence of Liberty City in the announced GTA 6, featuring only Vice City. Concerns that the mod might impact GTA 4 sales have been raised, although this argument is contested, as playing the mod still requires owning GTA 5, and GTA 4 is an older title. Regardless of the reasoning, the mod is no longer available. The hope remains that World Travel's future GTA projects will fare better, but Take-Two's approach to modding doesn't appear likely to change.
