Fans of bothRed Dead RedemptionandGrand Theft Auto 5got excited last month when news broke that a modding team was working to insert the map fromRed Dead RedemptionintoGTA 5.But now, the team involved with the mod says the project has been cancelled following intervention from publisher Take-Two Interactive.
The mod team, .White, announced the cancellation over atGTAforumsyesterday. The post doesn’t say who specifically put their foot down but the message was clear. This comes just days before the team was set to release a trailer for the mod, finally showing fans their work in motion.
“I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but as you may have noticed we did get contacted, and we sadly have to say we are stopping this project,” wrote a .White modder who goes by the name Mr. Leisurewear. “So thanks guys, but it isn’t going to happen, sorry.”
The mod, calledRed Dead Redemption V, would have inserted the entire map from the originalRed Dead RedemptionintoGrand Theft Auto 5with additional content, including graphical improvements. The in-development mod generated a lot of discussion online when it was first announced last month, thanks largely in part to renewed interest in theRDRfranchise over the last year.
But while Take-Two and developer Rockstar Games are obviously interested in generating hype for the late 2017 release ofRed Dead Redemption 2, it seems this particular mod crossed one too many intellectual property lines. Literally recreating the entire map from the original game is some pretty clear copyright infringement, although it’s also true that some developers and publishers have looked the other way in situations like this in the past in the name of fan service. Modders have put Liberty City intoGrand Theft Auto 5, for example, and not felt the wrath of Take-Two.
Gamers still looking to get aRDRfix prior to the release of the sequel later this year can play the original game on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or PC. The game was ported over to all three platforms through either backwards compatibility orPlayStation Nowlast year.
Red Dead Redemption 2releases on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Fall 2017.
