Just weeks after publically releasing the Liberty City Preservation Project – an ambitious mod adding a playable version of Grand Theft Auto 4’s map to GTA5 – its developers have confirmed the project is being taken down following conversations with Rockstar Games.
The Liberty City Preservation Project – which modding team World Travel has been working on since 2018 – generated significant interest when it launched earlier this month, giving GTA 5 players a chance to explore GTA 4 protagonist Niko Bellic’s old stomping ground. It featured the entire Liberty City map – complete with traffic, pedestrians, weather, and more – alongside improvements such as overhauled lighting, better textures, and new scenarios.
Unfortunately, the mod’s enthusiastic reception also set it on a collision course with Rockstar, and The Liberty City Preservation Project is now officially no more. As spotted by Insider Gaming, lead modder nkjellman announced its end on Discord, writing, “Due to the unexpected attention that our project received and after speaking with Rockstar Games, we have decided to take down the Liberty City Preservation project.”
“We appreciate all the support the project has received,” nkjellman continued, “and we look forward to continuing to pursue our passion for modding the Grand Theft Auto series.”
Nkjellman didn’t specify what had drawn Rockstar’s ire, but the studio has frowned on similar mods before. Back in 2017, it called time on the ‘Liberty City in GTA5’ mod, saying that while it “generally [would] not take legal action against third-party projects involving Rockstar’s PC games that are single-player, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property rights of third parties”, it would not allow “use or importation of other IP”, including its own. So it seems likely that’s where the Liberty City Preservation Project has fallen foul of Rockstar’s rules.
Perhaps notable, too, is the fact an official Grand Theft Auto 4 remaster was reported to have been in the works back in 2022. At the time, the project was set to have been shelved due to the poor reception of 2001’s GTA: The Trilogy remasters – but the report also referenced a supposedly canned Red Dead Redemption remaster that did eventually show up in 2023. It’s possible Rockstar’s rumoured GTA 4 remaster is alive and well, which might have contributed to the Liberty City Preservation Project’s swift slap down. But, regardless, 2025 is a massive year for the long-running franchise, with GTA 6 currently expected to release this “autumn”.
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