Take-Two Interactive have just issued a copyright claim blocking the incredible GTA Vice City: The Next-Gen Edition. Rockstar Games’ parent company took the action ahead of the fan-made remasters release and following talk in the community that it won’t be removed.
Despite the developers sharing updates on the project over the past few years, there has been a lot of fanfare for GTA Vice City: The Next-Gen Edition this past week. The team working on this stunning GTA IV-based mod shared a release date of January 25th alongside a trailer which led to it gaining popularity fast.
We reported on all of what it will have on offer such as original cars, music, collectibles and more. This mod is/was going to be free and requires a copy of GTA IV to run though it is unclear if illegitimate copies could be used which would be one of the reasons for a takedown.
Yet Another Removal
Earlier this month Rockstar Games entered talks with the popular Liberty City mod for GTA V which led to its removal just days after release. A lot of fans assumed this Vice City mod would suffer the same fate. Others meanwhile suggested how Revolution Team, the mod developers, being based in Russia, could be much harder to take down. Some GTA fans expressed disappointment with the mod team for revealing the mod so early and allowing Take-Two the ability to potentially shut down the project before release.
The Liberty City Preservation Project was revealed and released at the same time. Those trailers did not get removed by Rockstar Games’ parent company despite the mod actually being removed after Rockstar kindly asked. That’s why this instance is interesting.
As spotted by GameRoll, visiting the YouTube link for the Vice City: The Next-Gen Edition trailer now greets you with a message reading: “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Take-Two Interactive”. The video also appears to be removed/privated on the Russian social media platform VK though it is viewable on one post by the mod team on VK here.
After further investigation, all of the videos shared by the mod team on YouTube have either been copyright claimed by Take-Two or are unavailable because the mod team deleted the YouTube channel. The second message reads: “This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been closed.”
Will this mod actually release? We’ll find out in less than two days. It is possible it will release but be swiftly taken down if Rockstar and Take-Two get their way despite Russia’s legal system. We’ll be sure to keep you updated how the story develops.
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1 Comment
Ive bee wating red dead 2 for a long time now.