A few weeks ago, a bold GTA V mod team released Liberty City Preservation Project, a large-scale recreation that brought Liberty City from GTA IV into the modern open world of Grand Theft Auto V. The mod aimed to faithfully recreate the streets, landmarks, and atmosphere of Liberty City while blending in GTA V’s lighting, traffic, and weather, offering players a sense of stepping into a parallel GTA era. For many fans in North America and beyond, the prospect of roaming Liberty City with updated textures, a functioning subway, and the GTA IV radio soundtrack felt like a dream made real. The project quickly became a talking point in the modding scene for its ambition, scope, and willingness to tackle the technical bridge between two different game engines. Yet shortly after its public debut, news emerged that the project had been halted at the request of the rights holder.
Official representatives contacted the modding team, and after a direct conversation the decision was made to discontinue the Liberty City Preservation project. A member of the team shared details with the community on Discord, explaining that the pause was the result of licensing concerns and the publisher’s enforcement posture. The incident underscored how fan projects can intersect with IP policies, even when the work is non-commercial and purely exploratory in nature.
From the modders’ viewpoint, the pause came in response to unexpected attention and because of conversations with the rights holder. They thanked the community for ongoing support and indicated they would continue to explore ambitious ideas within the GTA universe while respecting the boundaries established by the IP owners. This situation echoes a broader pattern in the modding world, where enthusiasm meets licensing considerations and corporate oversight.
The Liberty City Preservation adaptation included the entire playable city with a working subway, radio stations drawn from GTA IV, high-definition textures, radar, police presence, traffic logic, and a living array of NPCs. The result was a dense environment designed to preserve the flavor of Liberty City while letting players experience familiar districts through a GTA V lens. Achieving such a level of detail required reconciling two generations of assets, reworking mission scripts, and aligning the city’s geography with GTA V’s world streaming and physics—an effort that resonated with modders and players across the United States and Canada who crave large, immersive fan-made worlds.
Modding policies around GTA titles have a storied history. In 2021, Take-Two Interactive tightened its stance, restricting distribution of a number of mods for Vice City and San Andreas. Each case has fueled debate about where fan creativity ends and IP control begins, with communities weighing the thrill of fan-made experiences against the rights of rights holders. These episodes persist as cautionary examples of how publishers police fan content while still leaving space for official remasters and enhanced editions in the future.
Some players argued the ban might be easier to justify if a GTA IV remaster with Liberty City updates is planned, while others warned that any future remasters should clearly define what kinds of mods will be allowed. In forums and streams across North America, opinions split: supporters saw the shutdown as a responsible move to protect intellectual property, while critics warned it could dampen the energy of retro GTA communities that keep older titles alive through creative reimaginings.
Ultimately, the episode illustrates the delicate balance between fan enthusiasm and corporate policy. It highlights North American modding communities’ eagerness to bridge eras, offering a glimpse of what Liberty City could feel like in GTA V if licensing aligned with creative ambition. The broader discussion touches on IP enforcement, licensing clarity for fan work, and the evolving boundaries of open-world moddability in major franchises.
As the scene evolves, players in Canada and the United States keep exploring new ways to push the boundaries of what a fan-made map can be, while developers and publishers assess how to support fan experimentation without compromising legal protections. The conversation continues to shape expectations for future GTA projects and the role of community-made content in extending a game’s life beyond its official release.
In short, the Liberty City Preservation episode stands as a case study in how fan passion meets policy. It captures the thrill of reimagining an iconic city and the realities that come with steering that passion within the rules. For North American fans, the takeaway is clear: bold ideas can spark remarkable conversations about the intersection of creativity, ownership, and the ongoing evolution of the GTA ecosystem.