Grand Theft Auto V may be one of the best-selling games in the history of gaming, but that doesn't mean that it's immune from the public's ire. In response to last week's forced takedown of GTA V's Open IV modding system, fans have flocked to the Steam page for the game, with - at the time of this writing - 84% of the game's most recent 31,000 reviews classified as overwhelming negative.

GTA V's overall online ranking is still quite good, with over 220,000 reviews that are defined as "mostly positive" by the platform's ranking system. However, it's clear that gamers are extremely upset at Take-Two Interactive's dismantling of the Open IV mod tool. Take-Two claimed in the takedown that forcing the shutdown of the Open IV mod tool was to prevent cheaters from ruining the game for other players on GTA Online. However, players and the developer of Open IV were quick to point out that the system wasn't designed to be used for online gameplay, and that the game will refuse to run GTA Online if it detects altered files or running modifications.

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While Take-Two has made an effort to combat hacking since the game's inception, gamers believe that the real reason for this shutdown is due to a potential loss of income. Take-Two has made a fortune on its in-game currency via Shark Cards, and gamers have previously found ways to hack the game to increase their bank balance or steal other players' in-game currency. As this could significantly impact the developer's microtransaction income, it seems Take-Two may have felt the need to step in and put an end to it, but gamers argue that shutting down Open IV accomplishes nothing.

GTA V players have been using mods since the game's release to not only do crazy things like play the game as Iron Man, but to have better control over their machinima video creations. While mods and modding tools still exist for the game, gamers are also concerned that Open IV may be just the tip of the iceberg. Take-Two could soon set its sights on other modders it perceives as a threat.

Sadly, as some players have pointed out, since GTA V is the best-selling game in America, it's unlikely that an outpouring of complaints will change Take-Two's decision. However, it could have an impact on Red Dead Redemption 2. Since gamers are already concerned that Take-Two could be more focused on microtransactions than the core game, it's not out of the question for that game to take a hit in sales due to players still angry about GTA V.

GTA V is available now for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Source: Steam