Grand Theft Auto 5’s long-lasting appeal via GTA Online has come from two things: endless updates and the endless roleplaying potential. Mods have helped to transform the game in inventive ways, providing unofficial new content and more flexible ways for players to inhabit the online world. But there are limits on the sorts of modding that Rockstar Games is willing to tolerate, and it’s reminding fans of them ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 with an updated set of guidelines that could restrict some of the modding potential moving forward.
Framed as a “keep it in mind” reminder for players after repeated clashes with fan creations and the closure of numerous online modding communities in the past year, these new mod policies explicitly remind players to “respect their games” and restrict the development of mods that seek to alter the established continuity or traits of its characters and stories. Here’s part of the text:
Respect Our Games. Rockstar Games creates unique worlds, characters, and stories, which form the official continuity of our games. Like all creators, we have the right to set limits on how others can use our games and brand.
- Do not expand or modify Rockstar Games’ official storylines, plots, missions, characters, or other elements of our established continuity.
- Do not make mods that combine maps, locations, characters, storylines, in-game assets, or other IP from one Rockstar Games title into another title.
- Multiplayer modding is limited to Rockstar Games’ official licensed Creator Platform or else as otherwise licensed directly by Rockstar Games.
- Do not modify our games to operate on consoles, hardware devices, or other platforms where they have not been officially released by Rockstar Games.
Other restrictions include prohibiting the introduction of third-party IP to the universe or in modifying or reusing “voiceover performances from any game released by Rockstar Games” or using “any real-world person’s voice, image, or likeness without written permission”. Mods must also not engage in “unauthorized or abusive monetization”, and must not harm the creator community.
Rockstar insist the rules are introduced because they as creators believe they “have the right to set limits on how others can use our games and brand”, and while some rules makes sense (prohibiting the use of someone’s likeness when AI can replicate this is a positive choice), these new policies will be incredibly restrictive on just what can be made moving forwards. Of course, for now these rules only impact Grand Theft Auto V and earlier titles, as well as other Rockster titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, but will inevitably prevent as many creative ideas sprouting from fans via modding in the inevitable later port of Grand Theft Auto VI to PC, as has been seen with its predecessor.
