With more criticism coming towards the GTA Trilogy remastered collection, Take-Two Interactive is now using DMCA takedown notices to remove GTA mods. On November 11th, according to the people LibertyCity, Take-Two contacted them to remove two GTA mods and one save file. The now three removed are now:
- GTA Advance PC Port Beta 2
- The Last and Dammned Unlocked for GTA 4
- GTA IV EFLC The Lost and Damned (65%)
GTA Advance PC Port is a fan-developed project that attempted to port the game into the GTA engine. Developed by Digital Eclipse, GTA Advance was only released on GameBoy Advance. The Last and Dammned Unlocked for GTA 4 is a mod released in 2009. The mod lets players swap out Niko Bellic with the protagonist of The Last and Dammned Johnny Klebitz. It also includes new biker outfits and different icons.
Finally GTA IV EFLC The Lost and Damned (65%) is just a save file for the game that lets players start the game from 65% completion. Even so, Take-Two used a DMCA strike to get the file removed.
This Isn’t Take-Two Interactive’s First Time Taking Legal Action
The company has also sued fan developers over source code projects that led to some old mods. Now, fans are shutting down their projects over fears of financial and legal troubles.
Over the last year, Take-Two Interactive went on another takedown spree. The last time these mod takedowns happened, they mostly targeted PS2-era GTA games. After that, Rockstar confirmed remastered versions of all three classic games that were set to be released this year. Though these plans can change (and probably will change), Rockstar might be more hesitant to approve of future re-releases.
Still, if these takedowns are the indicator of a future GTA IV re-release, it’s still a difficult situation to navigate for modders and community devs. As of now, many Reddit modders are considering moving on from Rockstar games.
