GTA Fan Accuses Take-Two of Hypocrisy: 'Focus on Making Decent Remakes Instead of Going After Modders'
Take-Two has, without any warning or explanation, purged the web of a modification that allows for conversations with NPCs in GTA V. The mod's creator does not hide his disappointment.
To better understand the situation, it is necessary to go back a dozen days or so, when a modder by the handle Bloc released the modification called Sentient Streets. The project of the ingenious creator, based on artificial intelligence, allowed for conversations with NPCs in Grand Theft Auto V. All the player had to do was approach any resident of Los Santos and activate the appropriate function - then they could have a chat with an NPC over the microphone.
Destroyers of fun, smiles of players....
Without a doubt, the modification could have had a very positive impact on the gameplay experience. It could have, but unfortunately we will no longer be able to learn its capabilities, because it vanished into thin air. It turns out that not only the mod is nowhere to be found on the web, but also the instructions for its installation and the videos that showed Sentient Streets in action. It turns out, Take-Two is behind the obliteration of all traces of the project's existence.
The whole matter was made public by the aforementioned modder.
"Yesterday, Take-Two Interactive hit my channel with copyright strike about my video on GTA V mod and YouTube removed the video immediately without giving any chance to explain myself. The reason for this takedown shown by Take-Two Interactive to YouTube was because I used their software (GRAND THEFT AUTO V) in the video.
No one from Take-Two Interactive contacted and ask me anything prior to this, they just took down the video out of nowhere. Two days ago, my account on Netlify was also suspended. I used Netlify to host the installation guide for the mod. I should not claim anything without proof, of course, since netlify didn't bother to give any explanation, but to me, it looks like these two cases are seem to be related," reads the message in Bloc's YouTube post.
Continuing, the modder added that he tried to contact Take-Two to clarify the matter. Unfortunately, to no avail.
"I contacted claimant email address shown on YouTube (which was Take2 email address), was hoping that there might be a small misunderstanding or that they could explain the reasoning behind it. Perhaps this occurred automatically, but the evidence suggests a deliberate manual DMCA takedown request from them. I also didn't get any response back. It looks like they are just attacking to mod from all fronts," he explained.
Take-Two's hostile attitude
Bloc expressed his disappointment at the company's "hostile attitude" and stressed that it had no apparent reason to remove the mod. The developer also wondered why his video was removed from YouTube for copyright infringement, while there are millions of other videos about GTA V on the platform.
"I must say, as a person who grew up with the Grand Theft Auto series and enjoyed all the games throughout the years, this hostile attitude towards me and the mod is very disheartening. (...) If there was something violating the policy in the video (such as something I said, the thumbnail, or something in the description, etc.), I would be happy to discuss that with Take2's contact person if they would just send me an email. Instead, they chose a non-communicative approach," continues the message.
The developer did not fail to point out the company's controversial publishing policy aimed at making as much money as possible. Bloc also referred to Rockstar's June removal of many cars from GTA Online, which went only to GTA subscription users (via PCGamer).
"I am hoping that anyone who enjoyed this mod will remember this dishonest action taken by Take-Two whenever they hear any news about the Rockstar. Rather than chasing small mods, perhaps they should focus on creating proper remakes with better pricing policy or should stop removing cars from Online to sell same cars to people."
Puenta
Bloc summed up the whole situation by quoting the words of Rockstar Games (a subsidiary of Take-Two) from 2022.
I will end this post with Rockstar's own words on modding, and I invite you to consider whether you believe this action aligns with their public statement from 2022 or not:
"Rockstar Games has always believed in reasonable fan creativity and wants creators to showcase their passion for our games," he concluded.
Recall that last week Rockstar announced acquiring the developers of the popular mods FiveM and RedM, which are used for roleplay in GTA V and RDR2. Interestingly, a few years ago this group was banned by the company for using code in their mods that allegedly facilitated piracy (via Reddit).
