Grand Theft Auto V Makers Rockstar Games Talk Parent Company Into Allowing Modding Tools
As you may have heard, popular Grand Theft Auto V modding tool OpenIV recently got the kibosh. [...]
As you may have heard, popular Grand Theft Auto V modding tool OpenIV recently got the kibosh. OpenIV is only designed for use with the single-player component of GTA V, but it's been used as a foundation for various hacking mods and tools afflicting GTA Online. Take-Two Interactive, who owns GTA studio Rockstar Games, has been cracking down hard on GTA Online cheaters, and Open IV got caught in the blowback.
Unsurprisingly, fans were not happy about the death of OpenIV. Messing around with mods is arguably the main reason most people still play GTA V, and a large portion of those mods are based on OpenIV. It really felt like Take-Two was cutting off their nose to spite their face. GTA V has been flooded with negative reviews on Steam, a petition to revive OpenIV gained nearly 80,000 signatures, and GTA forums have been a warzone.
Well, thankfully, it seems like the great Grand Theft Auto modding meltdown may have been settled, thanks to Rockstar Games. Scroll on down for the latest developments…
Throughout this whole brouhaha, it's been somewhat unclear what the folks at Rockstar think about the banning of OpenIV. It's fairly obvious the crackdown came at the behest of parent company Take-Two Interactive, with Rockstar remaining unusually quiet and diplomatic in their response. Well, Rockstar has released a new statement on the matter, and it seems they've managed to talk Take-Two down off the ledge.
"Rockstar Games believes in reasonable fan creativity, and, in particular, wants creators to showcase their passion for our games. After discussions with Take-Two, the company has agreed that it generally will not take legal action against third-party projects involving Rockstar's PC games that are single-player, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property rights of third parties. This does not apply to (i) multiplayer or online services; (ii) tools, files, libraries, or functions that could be used to impact multiplayer or online services, or (iii) use or importation of other IP (including other Rockstar IP) in the project."
In other words, single-player modding tools like OpenIV are fair game, but the campaign against GTA Online mods and cheats will continue. That's hardly surprising -- GTA Online microtransactions made up nearly half of Take-Two's revenue last year and cheating has been getting out of control. Something had to be done.
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Right on cue, a new update for OpenIV has been released by the mod tool's creator Yuriy "Good-NDS" Krivoruchko. The path was a bit rocky, but it seems we've arrived at a happy ending – Grand Theft Auto V retains its mods, while GTA Online should have fewer cheaters. Win-win! That said, Take-Two warns the above statement is not a carte blanche, and they could crack down on GTA V mods again in the future.
"Take-Two reserves the right to object to any third-party project, or to revise, revoke and/or withdraw [their joint statement with Rockstar Games] at any time in their own discretion. This statement does not constitute a waiver of any rights that Take-Two may have with respect to third-party projects."
So yeah, watch yourselves, modders. Don't create anything that might cost Take-Two money or you'll probably be hearing from their lawyers.
You can check out all WWG's latest Grand Theft Auto V coverage here.
[via GameSpot]
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