Massively Beloved GTA Mod Taken Down, Modders Claim "Increasing Hostility" From Take-Two

Back successful July, the Grand Theft Auto modding assemblage was sent into a panic erstwhile the genitor institution of Rockstar Games, Take-Two, ramped up efforts to instrumentality down fashionable mods. While the institution is nary alien to taking down mods that transverse that invisible enactment for the publisher, those efforts look to person ramped up exponentially implicit the past twelvemonth with a much assertive attack to the modding community. After the fashionable mod GTA Underground was taken down antecedently from ModDB owed to a DMCA onslaught from the institution earlier this year, the squad has decided to propulsion the mod wholly owed to the "increasing hostility" felt from the genitor company. 

The modding squad down GTA Underground took to the GTAForums to update their archetypal connection from July, stating, "Due to the expanding hostility towards the modding assemblage and imminent information to our intelligence and fiscal well-being, We sadly denote that we are officially ceasing the improvement of GTA: Underground and volition beryllium soon taking each authoritative uploads offline."

The station continues, saying, "We would similar to convey the assemblage for the immense enactment they've fixed america for the past years and our talented modding squad for the unthinkable work, dedication and large times we had together."

The squad besides added that this determination does not mean that the radical is disbanding. Instead, they are looking to commencement up their ain crippled entirely, which you tin larn much astir successful the video astir the extremity of Underground at the apical of the article. 

The modding assemblage antecedently banded unneurotic to way which mods are surviving the question of bans and which ones are not, which tin beryllium recovered here. 

Nintendo is different large institution that is precise overmuch against the instauration of mods, though Rockstar has been a small much lenient (in the past, astatine least). The archetypal question of bans mostly targeted either full conversion mods oregon those impacting multiplayer settings to debar cheats. Back successful 2017 (later updated successful 2019), Rockstar tweaked its enactment page with the beneath connection regarding single-player mods and if those would beryllium exempt from takedowns: 

Rockstar Games believes successful tenable instrumentality creativity and, successful particular, wants creators to showcase their passionateness for our games. After discussions with Take-Two, Take-Two has agreed that it mostly volition not instrumentality ineligible enactment against third-party projects involving Rockstar’s PC games that are single-player, non-commercial, and respect the intelligence spot (IP) rights of 3rd parties. This does not use to (i) multiplayer oregon online services; (ii) tools, files, libraries, oregon functions that could beryllium utilized to interaction multiplayer oregon online services, oregon (iii) usage oregon importation of different IP (including different Rockstar IP) successful the project; oregon (iv) making caller games, stories, missions, oregon maps. This is not a license, and it does not represent endorsement, approval, oregon authorization of immoderate third-party project. Take-Two reserves the close to entity to immoderate third-party task oregon to revise, revoke and/or retreat this connection astatine immoderate clip successful their ain discretion. This connection does not represent a waiver of immoderate rights that Take-Two whitethorn person with respect to third-party projects.

The amendment regarding making caller games and contented utilizing Rockstar IPs, specified arsenic the overhaul mods that supply caller contented and "importation of different IPs," similar the Liberty City and Vice City Stories ports, would not beryllium allowed. This revised wording was not recovered successful the archetypal transcript backmost successful 2017 and did explicate wherefore definite mods are being taken down successful caller weeks. 

There are ever talks astir Grand Theft Auto 6; it's a minefield of leaks, rumors, and mendacious reports, but the caller aggression towards mods seems to beryllium fueling those GTA 6 fires. A ample information of the GTA assemblage seems to deliberation that this question of bans is indicative of Rockstar being much protective of the spot due to the fact that of thing related to the adjacent Grand Theft Auto. Others deliberation that this could mean a imaginable remake oregon remaster could beryllium connected the horizon, and that's wherefore the older mods are being abruptly taken down. At this time, we've got thing but questions, but we're funny successful seeing if determination is simply a bigger crushed down the renewed fervor.