Rockstar closes an ambitious mod that added Liberty City from GTA 4 to GTA 5
Just weeks after the public release of Liberty City Preservation Project – an ambitious mod that adds a playable version of the Grand Theft Auto 4 map to GTA5 – its developers have confirmed that the project is being shut down after conversations with Rockstar Games.
The Liberty City Preservation Project, which World Travel’s mod team has been working on since 2018, generated significant interest when it launched earlier this month, giving GTA 5 players the chance to explore GTA 4 protagonist Niko Bellic’s old haunt. It featured the entire map of Liberty City with traffic, pedestrians, weather and more, as well as improvements such as updated lighting, improved textures and new scenarios.
Unfortunately, the mod’s enthusiastic reception also brought it into conflict with Rockstar, and the Liberty City preservation project officially came to an end. As noted by Insider Gaming, lead modder nkjellman announced the project’s demise on Discord, writing: “Due to the unexpected attention our project received, and after speaking with Rockstar Games, we have decided to close the Liberty City Preservation project.”
“We appreciate all the support the project has received,” Nkjellman continued, “and look forward to continuing our passion for modding the Grand Theft Auto series.”
Nkjellman didn’t say what sparked Rockstar’s ire, but the studio hasn’t approved of mods like this in the past. Back in 2017, the company called time on the “Liberty City in GTA5” mod, saying that while it “generally (will not) take legal action against third-party projects related to Rockstar computer games that are single-player, non-commercial and respect intellectual rights third party property,” it will not allow “the use or import of other intellectual property,” including its own. So it’s likely that this is where the Liberty City preservation project broke Rockstar’s rules.
Perhaps also notable is the fact that an official GTA 4 remaster was reported to be in development as early as 2022. At the time, the project was shelved due to the poor reception of the 2021 GTA: The Trilogy remasters. but the report also mentions a supposedly canned Red Dead Redemption remaster that eventually arrived in 2023. It is quite possible that Rockstar’s rumored GTA 4 remaster is also alive and well, which could have contributed to the rapid demise of the Liberty City preservation project. However, 2025 will be a big year for the long-running series, and GTA 6 is currently expected to release this fall.