GTA 5 is an immensely popular title even after all these years and it’s for all the right reasons. While Rockstar Games made a fortune from the game’s sales and the microtransactions with GTA Online, the game company has made a decision that fans are looking down upon.
Like most GTA games, mods add many new and explorable avenues to the game. One popular mod for the game expanded GTA 5‘s map and added Liberty City as an extension to the game’s existing map. Sadly, the mod has been shut down, all thanks to Rockstar and the team behind the project.
Rest in Peace Liberty City Preservation Project
GTA 4 was arguably one of the best in the franchise, with good reasons. It had an outstanding campaign, two incredibly profound expansions, and nuanced characters that you couldn’t get enough of. However, the heart and soul of the game was its setting, a manifestation of the aspirational American Dream: Liberty City.
Modeled after The City That Never Sleeps, its hustle and bustle made it the most contextually appropriate oyster for the ambitious Niko Bellic, a veteran who had served in the Yugoslav Wars. While the next entry in the GTA Series takes the story back to Los Santos, dedicated modders brought it to GTA 5 too.
After six years of work, the Liberty City Preservation Project was born. Made with the blood and sweat of a team consisting of eleven people, the mod finally released its first public version in December 2024. Alas, before it could turn mainstream, a mayday call from one of the mod’s makers was received by its Discord channel.
The Fans Are Losing It After the GTA 5 Mod’s Sunsetting
In the past, there have been a lot of immensely successful mods in GTA games who have even made it to the mainstream. Prominent ones include the FiveM multiplayer mod that allowed players to indulge in roleplaying shenanigans. Some others include the LCPDFR and LSPDFR, which allowed players to play as the police departments for Liberty City and Los Santos respectively.
The mod’s dev team has also shared an update and stated that this isn’t a DMCA removal but a ‘friendly takedown mutually agreed upon by both parties involved, something we didn’t want or expect to occur.
Regardless, Gamers are voicing their criticism of Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games on Social Media platforms like Twitter:
Dear Rockstar Games, fuck you for doing this.
— NikTek (@NikTekOfficial) January 15, 2025
Modders have put endless hours to make the most believable and amazing Liberty City Preservation Project and this is how you say thank you to a love letter? pic.twitter.com/8BTdJV7Osf
However, some fans are also looking at the bigger picture and contemplating what this mod’s takedown means for the future
It seems like Take-Two has shut down the Liberty City for GTA 5 mod despite it being worked on for years.
— Synth Potato🥔 (@SynthPotato) January 15, 2025
This company’s hostile attitude towards its own fans who love their games and bring players into them remains unchanged. Disappointed.pic.twitter.com/vNdyARrSRb
Some fans also stated that had it been that Liberty City was there in GTA 6 (which takes place in the fictional state of Leonida modeled after Florida), it would have been acceptable.
Do u think Las Venturas will be in GTA 6 or maybe do u think that could be GTA 7’s setting or ongoing GTA?
— MRZeverything ☪️ (@MRZevrything) January 15, 2025
It is unknown if something good or anything at all will come out of this or if this mod will now gradually sink into oblivion, only kept alive by archives and passion project heads of the Internet. Regardless, it begins a conversation; if not-for-profit mods that take are years in the making can be taken down in a split second, is modding even worth it?
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Sparsh Jaimini Sharma is a video games enthusiast and a Video Game Content Writer. A true white-blooded Madridsta. He is often seen grinding away at EAFC 24’s Ultimate team and learning to code when he is not writing. A Batman fan and Arkham Games connoisseur. He is the quintessential DC aficionado.
