Rockstar: GTA mod tool taken offline due to potentially disrupting multiplayer

Grand Theft Auto V developer Rockstar Games said in a comment that the OpenIV mod tool for its games has been taken offline because it “enables recent rogue mods that could hinder the GTA Online experience for everyone.”

Indeed, the multiplayer portion of Grand Theft Auto V has a lot to do with cheaters. The response from the community varies. For example, some say they understand that this application at least opens the door to multiplayer hacks, some say Rockstar should do a lot more in terms of anti-cheat measures, and some say that won’t change anything.

Rockstar emphasizes that the move, carried out by publisher Take-Two, was not specifically aimed at thwarting single-player mods. Furthermore, the developer is figuring out how it can “continue to support the creative community without penalizing players.”

The vast majority of the community seems to disagree with the removal of OpenIV. This is also reflected in the user reviews for the game on Steam. At the time of writing, the overall user reviews are still “mostly positive”, but the recent reviews have slid down to “overwhelmingly negative.”

Resistance is not only in the form of reviews. A petition on Change.org calls for Take-Two’s decision to be reversed. It has now been signed nearly 30,000 times. However, these kinds of petitions are not binding in any way.