Rockstar Pulls the Plug on Groundbreaking GTA 5 Mod Bringing Liberty City to Life
A few weeks after officially unveiling the Liberty City Preservation Project—a bold modification featuring a version of Grand Theft Auto 4’s map for GTA5—the developers have privately indicated that the project will be discontinued due to discussions with Rockstar Games.
The Liberty City Preservation Project, which the modding team World Shuttle has been developing since 2018, created significant enthusiasm upon its launch earlier this month, providing GTA 5 players the chance to explore the historical environment of GTA 4’s main character, Niko Bellic. It encompassed the complete Liberty City map—teeming with traffic, pedestrians, weather effects, and more—alongside enhancements such as revamped lighting, improved textures, and new scenarios.
Unfortunately, the mod’s vibrant reception led to friction with Rockstar, resulting in the formal discontinuation of the Liberty City Preservation Project. As reported by Insider Gaming, head modder nkjellman announced the halt on Discord, stating, “Due to the unexpected attention that our project received and after discussions with Rockstar Games, we have chosen to take down the Liberty City Preservation Project.”
“We are grateful for all the support the project has received,” nkjellman added, “and we are eager to continue pursuing our passion for modding the Grand Theft Auto series.”
Nkjellman did not clarify what specifically prompted Rockstar’s discontent, but the studio has previously expressed opposition to similar mods. Back in 2017, they canceled the ‘Liberty City in GTA5’ mod, stating that while they “generally [would] 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,” they could no longer permit “use or incorporation of other IP,” including their own. It appears that the Liberty City Preservation Project may have contravened some of Rockstar’s stipulations.
Also noteworthy is the fact that a genuine remaster of GTA 4 was reported to have been in progress as of late 2022. At that time, the project was said to have been put on hold due to the poor reception of the 2021 remasters of GTA: The Trilogy. However, the report also mentioned a reportedly canceled remaster of Red Dead Redemption, which ultimately came to light in 2023. It is possible that Rockstar’s rumored remaster of GTA 4 will likely be an.