Often, when a player wants to add a feature to a game or completely overhaul a given title, they will look to mods to accomplish that. Modifications for games on PC have been around for decades, and mods for games like Skyrim have helped keep the game alive and given it plenty of new content for players to enjoy. However, not all companies see mods as a positive thing, it seems, as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption publisher Take-Two Interactive has recently shown.A modder known as LukeRoss recently posted a lengthy message to his fans on Patreon stating that he had received a request from Take-Two to take down his VR mods for Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mafia Definitive Edition. Reportedly, Take-Two is demanding that Ross remove all of his work from his Patreon page, due to the use of the company's copyrighted material. Ross is best known for his work in giving Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mafia Definitive Edition VR modes.In his statement, Ross went on to say that he intends to get clarification from Take-Two about why exactly the publisher is issuing a takedown request for his mods. He also stated that this request comes from a copyright issue and not a licensing issue, so it allegedly doesn't have anything to do with Ross making money from his mods via Patreon. Considering that the mods are original pieces of software and that the Grand Theft Auto VR mod has been out for a while, it seems odd that Take-Two would choose now as the time to issue a takedown notice.
However, Ross intends to respect copyright above all else. While he states he has attempted to do that with his mods, by only building on the original experience of Red Dead Redemption 2 to give it a VR mode and users a new way to play, he also admits that should he not receive any clarifications from Take-Two, then he will remove all works even "remotely related" to any games published by Take-Two.
This isn't the first time fan creations have been targeted by video game companies, and Take-Two has issued copyright takedown notices for similar creations before. In February 2021, the publisher went after fans who were reverse-engineering the source code for GTA 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. This resulted in the project, which aimed to allow fans to mod the games, being shut down.