A Russian modding team, Revolution Team, has released its "GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition" mod despite Take-Two Interactive's efforts to remove related YouTube content. This ambitious project transplants the world, cutscenes, and missions of 2002's GTA Vice City into the engine of 2008's GTA 4.
The modders' YouTube channel was unexpectedly deleted by Take-Two, resulting in the loss of a significant audience and hundreds of hours of streamed development footage. Despite this setback, the team released the mod as planned, offering it as a standalone installation package instead of requiring a legitimate copy of GTA 4, a decision made to ensure wider accessibility.
Revolution Team emphasizes the mod's non-commercial nature, created by fans for fans, and expresses gratitude to the original game's developers. They suggest their project might set a precedent for the modding community, challenging Take-Two's approach to modding initiatives.
Take-Two's history of removing mods related to Rockstar games is well-documented, including instances involving AI-powered GTA 5 mods, a Red Dead Redemption 2 VR mod, and the Liberty City Preservation Project. Interestingly, Take-Two has sometimes hired modders for Rockstar Games, and some removed mods have later been incorporated into official remasters.
A former Rockstar Games technical director, Obbe Vermeij, defended Take-Two's actions, stating that the company is protecting its business interests. He cited the "GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition" as potentially competing with the GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, and the Liberty City Preservation Project as potentially interfering with a potential GTA 4 remaster. Vermeij suggests that the best hope for the modding community is for Take-Two to tolerate mods that don't directly compete with their commercial releases.
The future of the "GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition" mod remains uncertain, with the question of whether Take-Two will pursue its removal still unanswered.
