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 considerable excitement surrounding the "Liberty City Preservation Project" in 2024.

While some developers embrace modding, others take a more restrictive approach. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games' parent company, has a history of taking action against mods, similar to Nintendo. Despite this, the modding community persists. The developers behind the Liberty City Preservation Project, known as World Travel, 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 specifics remain undisclosed, the team affirmed their ongoing passion for GTA modding.

Another GTA Mod Removed

Although World Travel hasn't explicitly confirmed coercion, many players suspect the mod's closure resulted from pressure from Rockstar Games. The phrasing suggests a seemingly amicable conversation, but the likely scenario involves a warning about potential legal repercussions, such as a DMCA takedown. Given the volunteer nature of most modding teams and their lack of legal representation, such warnings often lead to immediate project termination.

The community's reaction has been largely negative, with many criticizing Rockstar and Take-Two for their aggressive stance on modding. This is particularly frustrating given the absence of a Liberty City return in the upcoming GTA 6, which currently features Vice City. Concerns about impacting GTA 4 sales are speculated, but this argument is widely contested; playing the mod still requires owning GTA 5. Regardless of the reasoning, the mod is no longer available. The future of World Travel's modding endeavors remains uncertain, but Take-Two's approach to mods appears unlikely to change.