Liberty City Mod for GTA 5 Pulled Offline

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 mod's popularity in 2024. While some game developers embrace modding, others, like Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive, are known for aggressive takedown actions.

The modding team, World Travel, announced the closure of the "Liberty City Preservation Project" on their Discord server. They cited "unexpected attention" and subsequent discussions with Rockstar Games as the reason for removing the mod. While the specifics remain undisclosed, the team expressed continued passion for GTA modding.

Another Casualty of Modding Crackdowns

Although World Travel hasn't explicitly confirmed coercion, many players suspect the mod's closure resulted from legal pressure. Contact from Rockstar Games often precedes cease-and-desist orders or DMCA takedowns, which smaller modding teams are ill-equipped to handle.

The community's reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with many criticizing Rockstar and Take-Two's aggressive anti-modding stance. While concerns about potential GTA 6 sales might be a factor (especially given the confirmed return to Vice City), the mod required ownership of GTA 5, mitigating any direct sales impact on GTA 4. Regardless of the reasoning, the mod is unavailable, leaving fans disappointed. The future of World Travel's modding endeavors remains uncertain, but their dedication to the craft is evident. The likelihood of Take-Two altering its approach to modding seems slim.