LogIn"Rather than chasing small mods, perhaps they should focus on creating proper remakes with better pricing policy," commented the AI mod's creator.
In case you missed it, last week, Game Developer and Modder, known only as Bloc, showcased Sentient Streets, a neat AI-powered mod for Grand Theft Auto V that enabled the player to talk to NPCs via a microphone.
Leveraging over 30 AI models, including Inworld AI, a character engine that allows creators to set up AI-driven characters, and ElevenLabs' text-to-speech software, the mod allowed the player to hold open-ended conversations with GTA V's non-playable characters in real-time, ask them questions, taunt them and make them angry, and such.
Image Credit: Bloc, Sentient Streets
Unfortunately, while developing the mod, Bloc failed to consider the company GTA V belongs to, as well as said company's stance on various community-driven projects that involve their products.
A week after the initial announcement and the release of the mod, the modder issued a lengthy statement, revealing that Take-Two Interactive, the owner of Rockstar, has shut down the project, hitting Bloc's YouTube channel with a copyright strike, deleting the installation guide for the mod on Netlify, and DMCA-ing the mod from Nexus.
"No one from Take-Two Interactive contacted and ask me anything prior to this, they just took down the video out of nowhere. I should not claim anything without proof, of course, since Netlify didn't bother to give any explanation, but to me, it looks like these two cases are seem to be related," reads Bloc's statement.
The modder also noted that their attempts to contact Take-Two and clarify the situation led nowhere.
"I contacted claimant email address shown on YouTube (which was Take2 email address), was hoping that there might be a small misunderstanding or that they could explain the reasoning behind it," it continues. "Perhaps this occurred automatically, but the evidence suggests a deliberate manual DMCA takedown request from them. I also didn't get any response back. It looks like they are just attacking to mod from all fronts."
Additionally, Bloc shared their opinion on the matter, saying that the "hostile attitude" emanating from the studio felt "very disheartening", and emphasized the apparent lack of reason for the mod's removal:
"If the real reason of this takedown is really me using GTA V in the video, then one might ask, if using GTA V in the video is a copyright strike reason, how is it possible that there are millions of YouTube videos on here at this very moment that showcases or simply does lets-play videos for over a decade without any problems? Unfortunately, this seems to look like an excuse to attack and take a stance against the mod. Which is somewhat puzzling to me, considering that the mod itself is both FREE and open-source."
"The mod does not utilize any voices from Grand Theft Auto nor does it distribute anything it shouldn't. I haven't even included my Patreon link in any of the mod descriptions or videos to avoid any potential controversy."
The statement ends somewhat poetically, with Bloc quoting Rockstar's public announcement from 2022 regarding their position on fan-made content:
"I am hoping that anyone who enjoyed this mod will remember this dishonest action taken by Take-Two whenever they hear any news about the Rockstar," Bloc writes. "Rather than chasing small mods, perhaps they should focus on creating proper remakes with better pricing policy or should stop removing cars from Online to sell same cars to people.
I will end this post with Rockstar's own words on modding, and I invite you to consider whether you believe this action aligns with their public statement from 2022 or not:
'Rockstar Games has always believed in reasonable fan creativity and wants creators to showcase their passion for our games.'"
Image Credit: Bloc
Notably, this is not the first time Take-Two acted as an A-rated party pooper in recent months. During July's San Diego Comic-Con 2023, the publisher also shut down a fan-made IRL recreation of Burger Shot, a famous fast food restaurant from the GTA franchise, issuing a cease and desist letter and forcing the team to cancel the installation.
And earlier this month, the company disappointed the community by announcing and releasing the original 2010 Red Dead Redemption and its zombie-themed DLC Undead Nightmare for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch and pricing it at 50$.
With the release of GTA VI steadily approaching, one might begin to wonder why Take-Two and Rockstar are putting in so much effort to have a falling out with the community. Is that a new marketing strategy? Or has the company learned from Nintendo and realized that community outrage doesn't negatively affect the bottom line? Tell us what you think in the comments!
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