GTA 6 Map Mod in GTA 5 Taken Down by Take-Two, Creator Admits Accuracy Might Have Spoiled Surprise

The modder known as Dark Space, who developed a playable recreation of the Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) map within Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5), has halted all work on the project following a copyright takedown from Take-Two, the owner of Rockstar Games. Dark Space had created this mod using leaked coordinate data and official trailer shots from GTA 6, making it freely available for download and sharing gameplay footage on YouTube. The mod garnered significant attention in January as eager fans of the GTA series sought a glimpse of what they might experience when GTA 6 officially launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S later this year.

However, the project came to an abrupt end last week when Dark Space received a copyright strike notification from YouTube after Take-Two initiated a removal request. Facing the potential termination of his channel due to multiple strikes, Dark Space preemptively removed all download links to his mod and posted a response video on YouTube, criticizing Take-Two's actions. He suggested that the mod's high accuracy in replicating GTA 6's map might have prompted the takedown.

In a subsequent interview with IGN, Dark Space expressed a philosophical acceptance of the situation, noting that he anticipated such a response from Take-Two based on their history of targeting fan projects. He speculated that Take-Two's aggressive action might be due to the mod's potential to spoil the surprise of GTA 6's map for players, given its basis on a community mapping project that used leaked coordinates.

Dark Space emphasized that his mod project is now completely defunct, stating, "Well they clearly do not want this project to exist... There’s no point putting more time into something that goes directly against what they’re willing to allow." He plans to continue creating content that his audience enjoys but will avoid further GTA 5 mods related to GTA 6, citing the risks involved.

The incident has raised concerns about the future of the GTA 6 community mapping project, which might also face scrutiny from Take-Two. IGN has reached out to the group for comment.

Take-Two has a track record of enforcing copyrights against fan projects, as seen with the recent takedown of the YouTube channel behind the 'GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition' mod, which aimed to integrate the world, cutscenes, and missions of 2002's Vice City into the 2008 game, GTA 4.

A former Rockstar Games technical director, Obbe Vermeij, defended Take-Two's actions, explaining that the company is protecting its business interests. He noted that mods like the 'VC NextGen Edition' directly compete with official releases such as the Definitive Edition, and other projects could interfere with potential remasters.

While the gaming community awaits the release of GTA 6, IGN continues to cover related developments, including insights from a former Rockstar developer on potential delays, comments from Take-Two's CEO about the future of GTA Online, and expert analysis on whether the PS5 Pro can run GTA 6 at 60 frames per second.

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