The project that connected the worlds of two GTA games did not please their developer.
With the help of a project piloted by fans, the characters of GTA V were able to visit the landscapes of the previous game.
The game studio Rockstar Games seems to have become frustrated with the project, which some of the fans of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game series have been working on for several years. The ambitious game modification, or mod, has now been ditched.
The fan project was based on the latest game in the series, GTA V. The mod changed the game in such a way that it was also possible to visit the location of the previous GTA IV.
GTA IV takes place in the fictional American city of Liberty City. Mod’s name was Liberty City Preservation Projecti.e. “Liberty City Preservation Project”. Its done with tongue in cheek the trailer can be seen below.
Inter alia Eurogamer and Gamerant say that the development of the mod started piloted by volunteers back in 2018. It was finally released at the end of 2024, and the reactions were very positive.
Eurogamer specifies that the group called World Travel, which developed the mod, did not only interpret the appearance of the city of Liberty City in GTA V. You can see that the city streets are bustling with traffic, and you can travel by public transport. The city’s weather also varies.
And since the core of the Grand Theft Auto game experience is crime, the city streets are also patrolled by representatives of the authorities.
The mod was only available to people for a short time before the project caught the attention of Rockstar himself.
The moniker mentioned as the director of World Travel nkjellman apparently posted a message about it on the Discord forum on January 15. A screenshot of the message can be viewed below as an X embed or this link through.
In his update, nkjellman says that Rockstar contacted the project leaders, but does not provide further details. In any case, the discussion with the studio led to the decision to end the project.
Gamerant speculates that the conversation between World Travel and Rockstar was hardly a friendly one. The studio probably threatened the group with legal action if the project went ahead.
There is no certain explanation for Rockstar’s desire to end the fan project. However, the studio has responded to similar projects a couple of times before with a stop order.
Eurogamer points out that Rockstar might be about to remaster GTA IV on its own, and doesn’t want a free competitor for its upcoming product.
This year will also see the release of the next game in the series, Grand Theft Auto VI. The studio probably wants fans to long for it instead of the old games in the series.