User modification, or modding, of video games in the open world sandbox Grand Theft Auto series is a popular trend in the PC gaming community. These unofficial modifications are made by altering gameplay logic and asset files within a user's game installation, and can change the player's experience to varying degrees. Frequently created by anonymous modders, modifications are presented in the form of downloadable files or archives. [1] Third-party software has been indispensable for building Grand Theft Auto mods, due to the lack of official editing tools from the developer, Rockstar Games. [2] Mods for Grand Theft Auto are generally developed for use on the PC versions of the games, since the platform does not prevent modifications to installed software; however, similar content for console and mobile phone versions does exist to an extent.
While mods for Grand Theft Auto have been developed by hobbyists since the release of the first game, mods only became more accessible and popular with the release of Grand Theft Auto III on Microsoft Windows in May 2002.[ citation needed ] The use of a 3D game engine (the first in the series [3] ) allowed development of custom vehicles, textures and character models, followed by new missions and map modifications; the success of these new types of mods started to attract widespread attention. In the following years, the modding scene became more sophisticated and complex, as various aspects of the game's internals were gradually being discovered and documented by hackers. One of the best-known examples is the iCEnhancer graphics modification [4] for Grand Theft Auto IV by Hayssam Keilany, praised by reviewers and labelled as "arguably one of the best mods of all time" by Polygon. [5] [6] [4]
In most of the games, certain data files were stored in simple archives or plain text files, allowing modders to edit them using basic tools. [7] However, more complex modifications, such as changes to the gameplay mechanics or the addition of custom models and/or maps, were not possible without more advanced tools specific to GTA, along with commercial-grade modelling programs such as SketchUp, 3ds Max and Zmodeler. For this reason, modders would often collaborate on various fan sites, pooling resources and sharing documentation with one another. In a quote by Patrick Wildenborg, the modder responsible for unlocking the Hot Coffee mini-game, he stated that "the modding community felt like a bunch of friends trying to solve a mystery". [8]
We know for a fact that there is a significant percentage of GTA fans who only buy the game for the PC because of the open-ended modification possibilities.
Grand Theft Auto fan communities have been essential to the growth of the modding scene. Modders were able to exchange knowledge and team up in order to create new tools, mods and documentation. [8] GTA communities, Internet forums, and fan sites have also been essential, as they serve as hosts for mods. Besides YouTube, sites such as GTANet, GTAinside, GTA V Mods and The GTA Place serve as platforms for content exchange and discussion about modding and the Grand Theft Auto series in general.
FiveM, an alternative multiplayer and role-playing modification for Grand Theft Auto Online , amassed a concurrent player count of 250,000 on Steam in April 2021, surpassing that of the base game. [9] [10] Earlier in February, Grand Theft Auto V became the most-watched category on Twitch due to an update for NoPixel, one of FiveM's largest servers which costs around $10,000 monthly in hosting costs. [10]
On 11 August 2023, Rockstar Games announced that it had acquired Cfx.re, the developers of FiveM. In the announcement, Rockstar stated it would "help [Cfx.re] find new ways to support this incredible community and improve the services they provide to their developers and players". [11]
LCPDFR and LSPDFR are modifications released for Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V , that convert their respective games into a law enforcement simulator. [12] The mod's developers, G17 Media, also develop RDRFR, a similar law enforcement simulator conversion for Red Dead Redemption 2 . [13] As of January 2022, LSPDFR has almost 11 million downloads, and LCPDFR has 2 million downloads; the mods' website, LCPDFR.com, also hosts over 27,000 additional third-party mod files and has over 420,000 registered users. [14] LCPDFR and LSPDFR made news in Australia in 2017, when New South Wales Police Minister Troy Grant denounced the mods on Seven News, calling the ability to install addons based on the NSW Police and harm in-game NSW Police officers or potentially commit police brutality as them "perverse" and "inaccurate". Grant's statements were met with criticism from the LSPDFR community, including a developer of one of the NSW Police mods, who said their content was harmless and that they "inspired kids to think of a career in the emergency services field". [15] [16]
Researchers at Brigham Young University and UBC Sauder School of Business conducted a decision-making study in partnership with LSPDFR, with the goal of studying how players behave in law-enforcement situations. The study included a survey and optional data collection of players while using the modification. The study has since closed and results are being analyzed. [17]
Grand Theft Auto V's release on the PC offers many advantages over the console release. Yet all of these pale in comparison to the most important advantage of all; modifications.
Mods are a part of the Grand Theft Auto franchise's success on PCs. [19] [20] Their popularity added on to the longevity and further success of the GTA series, [18] and complex modifications such as Zombie Alarm and LSPDFR offer entirely new experiences. [21] Modding served as one of main channels for innovations in gameplay. [22] The best example of this is arguably Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , which boasts one of the largest modding communities in PC gaming. [23] New modifications are still released for the game decades after its release.
When Grand Theft Auto V was released on PC in 2015, the breakthrough of new mods depended on the creation of new GTA V-specific modification tools. While GTA IV already had many mods and tools due to its age, [23] GTA V modders had difficulties creating mods until completely new tools were made. [2] [24] One of the most notable tools created was OpenIV, a file exploring and editing program allowing for easy manipulation of the game files. [25]
As GTA Online is built as a component of GTA V, it has been a subject of mods which intentionally caused negative effects on players' experiences. [26] [27] Because many mods in the form of in-game cheats were added to GTA Online, Rockstar developed an isolated section where those who used cheats in GTA Online would temporarily be placed. [28] Prior to Grand Theft Auto IV and GTA Online, mods such as San Andreas Multiplayer [29] and Multi Theft Auto were developed in lieu of an official multiplayer component for previous titles.
Although major mod hosting websites (such as GTAinside or GTAGarage) often check mods for possible malware, content infected with viruses and rogue software occasionally slip through. [30] As such, modding websites began to screen content owners and their works for any malicious content or similar quality or security issues.
Our primary focus is on protecting GTA Online against modifications that could give players an unfair advantage, disrupt gameplay, or cause griefing.
Modification of Grand Theft Auto is not endorsed by Rockstar and as such there is no official editor tool that allows manipulation of in-game files. [24] In an answer to a question made by a fan, Rockstar expressed their views on GTA modification, stating that they have always appreciated the efforts of the modding community and still gladly remember classic mods like Zombie Invasion or the original Grand Theft Auto III map on Grand Theft Auto IV . They also declared that their modding policy has not changed and is same as for GTA IV. [32] The end-user licence agreement contradicts this however, as it states users may not "reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, display, perform, prepare derivative works based on, or otherwise modify the Software, in whole or in part". [33]
For the release of Grand Theft Auto V for PC, Rockstar indicated that its primary focus was ensuring that Grand Theft Auto Online was free of possible hacks and exploits, and that therefore modding would not be allowed in Online. [34]
In August 2015, several members of the FiveM team had their Rockstar Games Social Club accounts suspended due to their involvement in an alternative multiplayer client for Grand Theft Auto V. [35] [36] [37] Upon being contacted by Kotaku regarding the issue, Rockstar stated that the FiveM client was an unauthorized modification "designed to facilitate piracy" and that as such, it violated the terms of use and therefore members were banned from the Social Club service. [38]
While Rockstar has previously provided some support with the original Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2, and even used a third-party utility for developing the Grand Theft Auto: London expansion packs, [39] the only official modification tool Rockstar has released is Rockstar Editor, [40] a tool which allows users to record and edit videos in-game. Options such as effects, audio, speed, cameras, and navigation tools are made available to the player. [41]
In August 2023, Rockstar announced they were acquiring FiveM as part of an acquisition of Cfx.re. [11]
Before NIMF and [Leland] Yee warned everybody about Hot Coffee, we only had a couple of thousand downloads on the mod, after the media panic, over a million! In late summer of last year, our server was pushing like 7 TB of data a month.
Hot Coffee is a normally inaccessible mini-game in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . The mini-game portrays crudely animated sexual intercourse between the game's protagonist, Carl Johnson, and a chosen partner. [43] After Patrick Wildenborg, a software engineer who also went by the alias "PatrickW", modified the game to make the mini-game accessible, Hot Coffee quickly gained notoriety worldwide, impacting consumer culture, politics and the video game industry as a whole. [44]
Rockstar initially blamed a "determined group of hackers" for hacking the base game and creating the mini-game from scratch. [45] This claim was eventually refuted, as the mini-game's code and assets had been developed by Rockstar and were already present, unfinished and abandoned, on the game disc: the mod simply made the existing content available to players. [46] [47] Rockstar would go on to indicate that they expected the ESRB rating to remain unchanged, as they had no control over the modifications applied to the game post-release. [48] However, the ESRB chose to have the rating changed to Adults Only, with the modding community taking the blame. [49] The ESRB later called on the video game industry to "proactively protect their games from illegal modifications by third parties, particularly when they serve to undermine the accuracy of the rating". [22] [50] In his interview for CNET , David Kushner explained that some modders were "scared" that Rockstar would prevent modifications to their games after Hot Coffee, but noted that once the controversy had passed the outcome was of refined ESRB guidelines rather that increased regulation, and a renewed public appreciation for mature content in video games. [51] Of the controversy and eventual fallout, Gamasutra wrote that "The treatment left many in the GTA mod community with mixed feelings". [42]
A weapon replacement for GTA V, which replaces the game's sticky bomb weapon with an exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 as a parody of the phone's battery explosion issue and subsequent recall, attracted controversy when Samsung Electronics America, Inc. reportedly issued takedown notices to YouTube demanding that videos depicting the phone be taken down as an alleged violation of its copyrights. [52] [53] [54] [55] The Verge called this "bogus", and a "ridiculous overreach and misuse of the DMCA", while it was also believed that these takedowns would only draw further attention to the content. Although Samsung has attempted to take down videos depicting the mod, it has not targeted websites hosting the mod itself. [52] [56]
On 14 June 2017, Take-Two Interactive sent a cease and desist to the developers of OpenIV, a program that allows users to install modifications for various Rockstar titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV , Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V, claiming that OpenIV allowed third-parties to modify and defeat the security features of its software. [57] Rockstar later responded by saying that "Take-Two's actions were not specifically targeting single player mods... We are working to figure out how we can continue to support the creative community without negatively impacting our players." [58] In a statement issued by Rockstar on 23 June, saying that Take-Two has agreed not to take legal action against third-party single-player modding projects involving Rockstar's games on PC. Rockstar has also contacted the developers of OpenIV, in an effort to resolve the dispute. [59] Although the details of said meeting remain undisclosed, shortly afterwards OpenIV was made available to download – and received a minor update – indicating the conversation with Rockstar was successful. [60] [61] The cease and desist led to a review bomb from users, [62] and caused a chilling effect with some mod developers discontinuing support for the game due to perceived legal ramifications with modding Grand Theft Auto V. [63]
On 19 February 2021, representatives claiming to be from Take-Two Interactive sent DMCA takedown notices to the team behind re3 and reVC, which were source code recreations of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City respectively, whose goal was a modernised and improved version of the games which can be ported and played on contemporary and future platforms. The representatives alleged that the source code recreations were an act of copyright infringement, stating that "The work is not licensed in any way," and had their respective GitHub repositories taken down as a result. [64] [65] Project leader aap cited the Super Mario 64 source code recreation as a precedent for the source code projects, noting that the Super Mario 64 repository is, as of 2021, still available despite Nintendo's reputation for aggressive litigation against copyright infringers. [66] In April, Theo, a New Zealand-based developer who maintained a fork of the source code, filed a counter-notice on GitHub, claiming that the code does not contain any original work owned by Take-Two; per DMCA rules regarding disputes, Theo's content was restored after two weeks, though the original repository and other forks remained unavailable. [67] In September 2021, Take-Two filed a lawsuit in California against the programmers, asserting that they "are well aware that they do not possess the right to copy, adapt, or distribute derivative GTA source code, or the audiovisual elements of the games, and that doing so constitutes copyright infringement". [68]
Case modification, commonly referred to as case modding, is the modification of a computer case or a video game console chassis. Modifying a computer case in any non-standard way is considered a case mod. Modding is done, particularly by hardware enthusiasts, to show off a computer's apparent power by showing off the internal hardware, and also to make it look aesthetically pleasing to the owner.
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 1999's Grand Theft Auto 2, and the fifth instalment overall. Set within the fictional Liberty City, the story follows Claude, a silent protagonist who, after being left for dead by his girlfriend during a robbery, embarks on a quest for revenge leading him to become entangled in a world of crime, drugs, gang warfare, and corruption. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Its open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main areas.
Video game modding is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general modding. Mods may range from small changes and tweaks to complete overhauls, and can extend the replay value and interest of the game.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fifth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2002's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and the seventh entry overall. Set within the fictional U.S. state of San Andreas, the game follows Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns home after his mother's murder and finds his old street gang has lost much of their territory. Over the course of the game, he attempts to rebuild the gang, clashes with corrupt authorities and powerful criminals, and gradually unravels the truth behind his mother's murder.
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North, and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games. The name of the series is a term for motor vehicle theft in the United States.
Rockstar Toronto is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Oakville, Ontario. The company was established as Imagexcel in the early 1980s and developed more than fifteen games under that name, including Quarantine, which was published by GameTek in 1994. The publisher bought the studio's assets through its Alternative Reality Technologies subsidiary in March 1995 and then sold Alternative Reality Technologies to Take-Two Interactive in July 1997. The studio became part of Take-Two's Rockstar Games label as Rockstar Canada in 1999 and was renamed Rockstar Toronto in 2002 when Take-Two acquired Rockstar Vancouver. Under Rockstar Games, the studio developed the 2005 game The Warriors, based on the 1979 film of the same name, as well as several ports, including the Windows versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Max Payne 3, and Grand Theft Auto V. In July 2012, Rockstar Vancouver was merged into Rockstar Toronto, which then moved into larger offices.
"Hot Coffee" is the unofficial name for a minigame in the 2004 action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas by Rockstar Games. While it was not playable in the official game release, the modding community discovered hidden code that, when enabled, allows protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson to have animated sexual intercourse with his in-game girlfriend.
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the eleventh entry overall. Set in the fictional Liberty City, based on New York City, the single-player story follows Eastern European war veteran Niko Bellic and his attempts to escape his past while under pressure from high-profile criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main islands, and the neighbouring state of Alderney, which is based on New Jersey.
The Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) is a proprietary game engine of Rockstar Games, developed by the RAGE Technology Group division of Rockstar San Diego, based on the Angel Game Engine. Since its first game, Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis in 2006, released for the Xbox 360 and Wii, the engine has been used by Rockstar Games's internal studios to develop advanced open world games for computers and consoles.
The United States Truth in Video Game Rating Act (S.3935) was a failed bill that was introduced by then Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) on September 26, 2006. The act would require the ESRB to have access to the full content of and hands-on time with the games it was to rate, rather than simply relying on the video demonstrations submitted by developers and publishers. In addition, the ESRB would become oversighted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Federal Trade Commission would define details of content for the ESRB ratings. Brownback said of the bill's introduction, "The current video game ratings system needs improvement because reviewers do not see the full content of games and don’t even play the games they are supposed to rate. For video game ratings to be meaningful and worthy of a parent’s trust, the game ratings must be more objective and accurate."
Grand Theft Auto Mission Pack #1: London 1969 is an expansion pack for the 1997 action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto, developed by Rockstar Canada and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for personal computers and the PlayStation in April 1999. The expansion adheres to the same gameplay mechanics of the main game and takes place in a fictionalised version of London during the 1960s. Players assume the role of a criminal who works for several London-based crime syndicates, and complete levels by achieving a set score, within an open world environment that allows them to do whatever they wish alongside jobs to achieve their goal.
A fan game is a video game that is created by fans of a certain topic or IP. They are usually based on one, or in some cases several, video game entries or franchises. Many fan games attempt to clone or remake the original game's design, gameplay, and characters, but it is equally common for fans to develop a unique game using another as a template. Though the quality of fan games has always varied, recent advances in computer technology and in available tools, e.g. through open source software, have made creating high-quality games easier. Fan games can be seen as user-generated content, as part of the retrogaming phenomena, and as expression of the remix culture.
Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, and the fifteenth instalment overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three protagonists—retired bank robber Michael De Santa, street gangster Franklin Clinton, and drug dealer and gunrunner Trevor Philips, and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. Players freely roam San Andreas's open world countryside and fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.
Nexus Mods is a website that hosts computer game mods and other user-created content related to video game modding. It is one of the largest gaming mod sites on the web, with 30 million registered members and 3146 supported games as of October 2024, with a single forum and a wiki for site- and mod-related topics.
A team of approximately 1,000 people developed Grand Theft Auto V over several years. Rockstar Games released the action-adventure game in September 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in April 2015 for Windows, and in March 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The first main Grand Theft Auto series entry since Grand Theft Auto IV, its development was led by Rockstar North's core 360-person team, who collaborated with several other international Rockstar studios. The team considered the game a spiritual successor to many of their previous projects like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. After its unexpected announcement in 2011, the game was fervently promoted with press showings, cinematic trailers, viral marketing strategies and special editions. Its release date, though subject to several delays, was widely anticipated.
Grand Theft Auto Online is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 1 October 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 18 November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, 14 April 2015 for Windows, and 15 March 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game is the online component of Grand Theft Auto V. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto Online allows up to 30 players to explore its open world environment and engage in cooperative or competitive game modes.
A Minecraft mod is a mod that changes aspects of the sandbox game Minecraft. Minecraft mods can add additional content to the game, make tweaks to specific features, and optimize performance. Thousands of mods for the game have been created, with some mods even generating an income for their authors. While Mojang Studios does not provide an API for modding, community tools exist to help developers create and distribute mods. The popularity of Minecraft mods has been credited for helping Minecraft become one of the best-selling video games of all time.
Skyrimmodding refers to the community-made modifications for the 2011 fantasy role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. One of the most modded video games of all time, it has nearly 70,000 mod submissions on Nexus Mods and 28,000 in the Steam Workshop. Many of these mods were created for utility reasons, patching numerous bugs left in the game by Bethesda Softworks, while also improving the game's usability and character movement. Other mods add new quests and characters, or update the game's graphics and animations. As the vanilla game has a reputation for outdated mechanics, it is common for players to mod Skyrim even prior to their first playthrough.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is a 2021 compilation of three action-adventure games in the Grand Theft Auto series: Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002), and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004). Developed by Grove Street Games and published by Rockstar Games, all three games are remastered, with visual enhancements and gameplay upgrades. The games feature different protagonists and locations within the same continuity. Grand Theft Auto III follows silent protagonist Claude in Liberty City; Vice City, set in 1986, features mobster Tommy Vercetti in the fictional Vice City; and San Andreas, set in 1992, follows gangster Carl "CJ" Johnson within the state of San Andreas.