Why modding will always be integral to the GTA experience

One of the most popular aspects of the GTA franchise is the potential to mod the games. The ability to reshape a game into whatever the player desires can be incredibly impactful. There have been GTA mods since the first game, but swapping to an open, 3D world has allowed for endless modding possibilities.

With another game in the franchise on the horizon, it’s time to look back at modding and what exactly makes it so important to the Grand Theft Auto franchise as a whole. These fan-made creations are a way to express love for a franchise, as well as bring something new to a classic game.

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Modding allows GTA games to be reshaped and even fixed by fans

GTA 3 is really when modding picked up for this particular franchise. There have been mods in the past, but nothing similar to the scope of what was possible in the third Grand Theft Auto game.

In fact, modding is all too common across video games in general. Without fan-made modifications, some games would remain broken and unplayable forever. Fans improve the animation, fix bugs, or add content to games that were in desperate need of it.

Thanks to the change to a 3D engine, fans could create customized content on a massive scale. As the years went on, fan mods became far more complex, and in GTA 5, players could completely change the world, making a whole new game based on the Grand Theft Auto base.

Since Rockstar Games does not release editing kits, it’s up to the players to go into the game’s files and use a variety of editing tools of their own. This can be done alone or in online modding communities.

While Grand Theft Auto is a great game (and one of the most successful video games in history) there really isn’t much left to do after beating the game. With that in mind, many people just wind up buying the game with no purpose other than to experience mods.

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Rockstar Games does not support the modding community

It’s not all a bed of roses, however. In fact, Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive have a long history of antagonizing the modders of their games. In the past, developers and publishers have had mods taken down for a variety of reasons.

There are many examples of this over the course of the franchise’s lifetime, such as the removal of GTA Underground, a fan favorite. This particular mod was removed from ModDB due to a DMCA strike by Rockstar Games that required the developers of the mod to take it down entirely.

While at first, Rockstar Games was helpful to the modding community, once the “Hot Coffee” mod came to light, the relationship between modders and the developers changed.

This mod unlocked a portion of the game containing some adult content that would not have normally been available. At first, the developers put the blame on the modding community for the Hot Coffee incident, and while the mod was taken down, it strained the relationship between the two groups.

After this incident, the developers were no longer able to aid fan groups in their work. Things would get worse when OpenIV, an important tool in game modding, would be shut down by Take-Two.

The publisher alleged that OpenIV allowed third parties to override security features and modify the software in violation of the publisher’s rights. Rockstar stated that it wasn’t a shot taken at single-player modding, claiming that OpenIV was allowing some users to harass other players online.

So while unofficially, Rockstar Games may appreciate the modding community, the two groups aren’t on the same side like they used to be in the early days.

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Modding in GTA isn’t going anywhere

Though things are strained between the two groups, modding isn’t going away in Grand Theft Auto. Although mods cannot be used in GTA Online, private servers and single-player content does appear to be fair game. There are some incredible worlds and mods created this way too.

One worth noting is FiveM, perhaps better known as the roleplaying server NoPixel. It’s a vast world created in the Grand Theft Auto games and is a mod for Grand Theft Auto Online. It is wildly popular with streamers and content creators all over the world.

However, not all mods are so sweeping. Some make the game prettier, such as GTA V Redux. This one adds 4K textures, new weather effects, and much more. There’s also Complex Control, which adds Battle Royale mechanics to the game.

One final mod worth noting brings the MCU to Grand Theft Auto, the GTA Iron Man Armor mod. It allows players to take to the air and even use Tony Stark’s repulsor blasts to serve up justice.

While modding may occasionally be controversial, it’s not a form of expression that’s ever going to end in the Grand Theft Auto community as long as the players have something to say about it.