Just weeks after publicly launching the Liberty City Preservation Project, an ambitious mod that adds a playable version of the Grand Theft Auto 4 map to GTA5, its developers have confirmed that the project will be retired following talks 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 the chance to explore the ancient terrain from the protagonist of GTA 4, Niko Bellic. It featured the full map of Liberty City, complete with traffic, pedestrians, weather, and more, along with improvements like revised lighting, better textures, and new scenery.
Unfortunately, the mod's enthusiastic reception also put it on a collision course with Rockstar, and the Liberty City Preservation Project officially no longer exists. As discovered by Insider Gaming, lead modder nkjellman announced its end on Discord, writing: “Due to the unexpected attention our project received and after speaking with Rockstar Games, we have decided to cancel the Liberty City Preservation project.”
“We appreciate all the support the project has received,” nkjellman continued, “and we look forward to continuing our passion for modifying the Grand Theft Auto series.”
Nkjellman did not specify what had drawn Rockstar's ire, but the studio has disapproved of similar mods before. In 2017, he called time for the 'Liberty City in GTA5' mod, saying that while “usually [would] not take legal action against third-party projects involving Rockstar PC games that are single-player, non-commercial and respect the intellectual property rights of third parties”, would not allow “the use or importation of other intellectual property”, including their own So it seems likely that this is where the Liberty City Preservation Project failed to comply with Rockstar's rules.
Perhaps also notable is the fact that an official GTA 4 remaster was reported to be in the works in 2022. At the time, the project was said to have been shelved due to the poor reception of GTA: The Trilogy remasters. 2021. but the report also referenced a supposedly canned Red Dead Redemption remaster that finally appeared in 2023. The rumored GTA 4 remaster may Rockstar is also alive and well, which could have contributed to the rapid failure of the Liberty City Preservation Project. But regardless, 2025 is a huge year for the long-running series, and GTA 6 is currently expected to release this “fall.”