Cyberpunk 2077's unofficial virtual reality mod has received a DMCA takedown request from CD Projekt Red. According to mod writer Luke Ross, the company cracked down on his mod because he was charging for access.
“Many of you have noticed that two of my last posts disappeared about a week ago. I apologize for not being able to personally comment on that fact, as there was a legal exchange going on,” Ross wrote in a post on his Patreon. “Now that the dust has settled, I'm even more saddened to announce that we're leaving behind an adventure that so many of you deeply loved and enjoyed. CD Projekt Red has decided to follow in Take-Two Interactive Software's footsteps and is issuing a DMCA notice against me for the removal of the Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod.”
Paid mods, the age-old debate
Ross is known for creating virtual reality mods for various games, including several entries in the Far Cry, Doom, and Dark Souls series. In the paragraph above, Ross refers to a takedown notice he received in 2022 for his Grand Theft Auto 5 virtual reality mod. To access Ross' mods, one must subscribe to his Patreon for $10 a month.
“In the end, it amounted to the same ironclad corporation,” Ross writes of CDPR's takedown notice. “Every little action a company takes is in the name of money, but everything modders do has to be completely free.”
Ross goes on to say that CD Projekt Red does not plan to release an official virtual reality version of Cyberpunk 2077, which would have been a valid reason for the takedown notice.
Bloodborne 60fps Mod taken down after legal threat from Sony
The fan-made match for Bloodborne that makes the game run at 60fps has been taken down by Sony after four years.
“As usual, they stretch the term 'derivative work' until it's paper thin, as if a system that makes it possible to visualize 40+ games in fully immersive 3D VR was somehow built using their intellectual property. And as usual, they don't care how playing their game in VR made people happy, and they can't just be grateful for the extra title that Ross sold for the extra title…”
Ross concludes by rallying against the “duplicity” of the corporate mind. Companies won't offer the features that modders provide, but also won't allow modders to support themselves while working on these projects.
Paid mods have always been a controversial topic, and the removal of Cybperunk 2077 VR has already sparked plenty of debate in the community.
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
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December 10, 2020
- ESRB
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M for mature: blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs and alcohol
