Liberty City Mod for GTA 5 Discontinued

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, take a more restrictive approach. This isn't unusual; Nintendo and Take-Two have a history of shutting down fan-made modifications.

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

Another Casualty of Aggressive Mod Policies

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 action, 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 overwhelmingly negative, with many criticizing Rockstar and Take-Two for their aggressive stance on modding. This is particularly frustrating given the absence of Liberty City in the upcoming GTA 6, which currently focuses on Vice City. Concerns about impacting GTA 4 sales have been suggested, but this argument is widely contested, as playing the mod still requires owning GTA 5, and GTA 4 is an older title.

Regardless of the reasoning, the Liberty City Preservation Project is no longer available. While World Travel intends to continue modding, the future of their projects remains uncertain under Take-Two's current policies.