After reverse-engineered source code forGrand Theft Auto 3andVice Citywere pulled offline due to DMCA claims by Take-Two Interactive, a developer stood up to the DMCA claim and won, in a way. However, it’s possible that this challenge could lead to a legal battle if Take-Two wants the source code taken down once again.
Earlier this year,Grand Theft Autofans released reverse-engineered source code for bothGrand Theft Auto 3andVice Cityin what was titled “re3” and “reVC,” respectively. These PC versions featured a slew of bug fixes and changes such as compatibility between controllers and no loading screens between islands in what was a multi-year passion project. For a while, they avoided any heat from Rockstar Games and theGTAdeveloper’s parent company Take-Two. In February, however, the chief creator washit with DMCA takedowns by Take-Two, which claimed that the source codes violated copyright claims forGTA 3andVice City.
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However, another party became involved. A New Zealand-based developer going by the name Theo took a stand against the DMCA claim after their fork was taken down from GitHub as well. Theo submitted a claim to GitHub, explaining that no source code from the original game was used, meaning that it doesn’t infringe on Take-Two’s content ownership. According to Theo, this isn’t the first time Take-Two has attempted to remove content containing none of its own code, such as when it tried toremove the OpenIV modding tool forGTA 5.
The counter-claim succeeded, in a sense, because the source code for reVC and re3 have appeared online once again. However, this is due to theDMCA rules, which state that the disputed content must be restored online within 14 days of a counter-notice being received. Theo filed their claim last month after Take-Two removed over 200 forks using the reversed source code.
Going forward, it will be up to whether or not Take-Two wants to pursue further action, which would need to be fought out legally in the courts. It’s possible that this could happen, but Theo doesn’t expectGTA 3’s publishing company to take such drastic action at this time.
While it might seem like re3 and reVC are pirated copies ofGTA 3andVice City, this isn’t the case. To download the package for re3 and reVC, the code requires the PC game’s assets to work, meaning players need a copy ofGrand Theft Auto 3for PC. It’s more like a massive mod for the game, such as theUnofficialSkyrimPatchthat overhauls bugs, graphics, and AI.
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