Defiant Modders Release 'GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition' Despite Take-Two Takedown

A Russian modding team, Revolution Team, has released its "GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition" mod despite facing YouTube takedowns by Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games' parent company. This ambitious project transplants the world, cutscenes, and missions of 2002's Vice City into the 2008 GTA 4 engine.

The modders' YouTube channel was unexpectedly deleted by Take-Two, resulting in the loss of a substantial community and over 100,000 views on the teaser trailer. Despite this setback, the team proceeded with the release, offering the mod as a standalone installer, a departure from their initial plan to require a legitimate GTA 4 copy. This change, they explained, was necessary to ensure wider accessibility given the uncertain situation.

Revolution Team emphasizes the mod's non-commercial nature, created by fans for fans, and expresses gratitude to the original game's developers. They hope their project will encourage a more open dialogue between Take-Two and the modding community.

Take-Two's history of aggressive takedowns of Rockstar-related mods is well-documented, impacting projects ranging from AI-powered GTA 5 story mode enhancements to VR mods for Red Dead Redemption 2. This includes the recent controversy surrounding the Liberty City Preservation Project. Interestingly, Take-Two has sometimes hired modders, and the takedown of certain mods has sometimes preceded Rockstar's own remaster announcements.

Obbe Vermeij, a former Rockstar Games technical director, offered a corporate perspective, arguing that Take-Two's actions are simply protecting its business interests. He cited the "GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition" mod as potentially competing with the "Definitive Edition," and the Liberty City Preservation Project as potentially interfering with a potential GTA 4 remaster. He suggested that the best outcome is for Take-Two to tolerate mods that don't directly impact their sales.

The future of the "GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition" mod remains uncertain, with the question of whether Take-Two will pursue further legal action still hanging in the air.