Defiant Modders Release 'GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition' Despite Take-Two Takedown
A Russian modding group has released its ‘GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition’ in the face of YouTube takedowns from Rockstar parent company Take-Two.
The eye-catching mod, from a group calling itself Revolution Team, ports the world, cutscenes, and missions from 2002’s Vice City into 2008’s GTA 4.
In a video description, the modders said Take-Two had “deleted” its YouTube channel “without any warning or attempt to contact us.”
“A huge amount of effort and time was invested into the channel, including hundreds of hours of streams dedicated to the mod's development,” the statement continued.
“Additionally, we lost connection with our international audience, which was a significant part of our community. The teaser trailer for GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition gained over 100,000 views and 1,500 comments in less than a day. Unfortunately, the channel was removed without any possibility of recovery.
“This was a cruel move from them, but we have already accepted the situation, since we cannot influence it. We refrained from commenting, as we weren’t sure what further actions could follow. So, we decided not to take any risks which could disrupt the release.
“These past two days have been emotionally tough for our team since we envisioned the release very differently — with a cozy stream dedicated to the long-awaited launch of the mod. But none of that matters anymore.
“The most important thing now is that we released the project on the promised date. It’s unclear how long it will remain publicly available or whether there will be demands to take it down. We are not opposed to reuploads, but we cannot openly encourage you to do so. Do as you see fit.”
The modders said that originally it planned for GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition to require a legitimate copy of GTA 4 to play “to show respect to the publisher,” but it has now released it as a standalone, installation-ready package.
“In light of the current uncertainties, we had to make this change to ensure the mod's stable performance for
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