Original GTA creator reports Rockstar put copyright strikes on his prototype videos

pcgamer.com:

One of the founding members of DMA Design, the studio that created the Grand Theft Auto franchise, is the latest victim of Take-Two and Rockstar's itchy copyright trigger finger. Videos posted to YouTube by developer Mike Dailly from his early time at DMA Design were taken down on copyright strikes. Dailly was the first employee at DMA Design and later created the graphics engine for GTA, the bedrock for the series' now-famous style.

I see Rockstar are going full fuckers mode again, issuing copyright strikes to any GTA video they can find — including both my prototype videos. So now they're trying to block all release of anyone's work on a game — and any old development footage.August 21, 2022

Dailly first reported the event on Twitter(opens in new tab), where he said that Rockstar were «issuing copyright strikes to any GTA video they can find — including both my prototype videos. So now they're trying to block all release of anyone's work on a game — and any old development footage.» Dailly's Twitter was also affected, forcing the removal of a link to download a 25-year-old GTA 2 design document.

Two videos posted to Dailly's YouTube(opens in new tab) channel were renders from prototype graphics styles Dailly developed in the early 1990s. One was a rotating, isometric prototype, the other a top-down prototype, both of city streets and buildings. The third was footage from an old beta copy of Grand Theft Auto. Contacted for comment, Dailly told PC Gamer that the listed reason for the takedown was posting development footage without permission.

DMA Design was acquired by Rockstar in 1998 and renamed Rockstar North. It was responsible for the creation of Grand Theft Auto, establishing the energy of a now quite long-lived