Update: The backlash from Take-Two's overnight decision to shutter the popular Grand Theft Auto modding tool OpenIV continues, as GTA 5's overall Steam review rating hits 'Mixed'—an all-time low for Rockstar's popular open world sim.
At the time of writing, 'Recent' reviews stand at 'Overwhelmingly Negative' and a Change.org petition lobbying against the publisher's intervention (details of which are outlined below) has now passed its first 50,000 goal. The petition is expected to be delivered to both Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive.
Besides the OpenIV team and individual modders themselves, OpenIV's closure has and continues to adversely affect the GTA 5 machinima community. We're in the process of speaking to creators about the situation and where Take-Two's decision leaves them—look out for an in-depth feature later this week.
Original story:
In the wake of Take-Two Interactive's shutdown of popular GTA modding tool OpenIV, fans of GTA mods (and really, who isn't a fan of GTA mods, except for Take-Two, apparently) are doing what they can to make their voices heard. Visiting Steam's store page for Grand Theft Auto 5, the fallout is immediately evident. Rockstar's widely-acclaimed action sandbox has enjoyed cool-blue 'Mostly Positive' Steam reviews since its release, but 'recent' review scores now rate the game with the angry-red 'Mostly Negative'.
Currently, only 21% of the 23,000 reviews in the past 30 days are listed as positive, and scrolling down the 'most helpful' list of reviews, there are more thumbs-downs than a theater packed with Roger Ebert clones sitting through a Rob Schneider film festival.
Steam reviews aren't the only way GTA mod fans are attempting to make their voices heard. There's also a petition up at Change.org, planned to be delivered to both Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, that currently boasts over 20,000 signatures.
The petition, titled Save OpenIV, states "The closing of OpenIV leaves 10,000s of people without access to be able to mod their games, and leaves 10,000s of people without the ability to continue their hobbies."
The petition, created by 't0y is cool', concludes: "Myself, and other members of the LSPDFR and GTA modding community ask that OpenIV be allowed to continue distributing and running as a modding software, and that the modding of the Grand Theft Auto series, including SA, IV, and V be deemed legal again as Rockstar Games has said in the past."
LSPDFR, by the way, is a "police modification for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V which transforms the game into a law enforcement simulation, allowing you to conduct traffic stops, engage in high speed pursuits and enforce the law as you see fit."
Meanwhile, Ash Sky Queen, a machinima creator who uses mods made available thanks to OpenIV, described the shutdown as 'devastating' to the creative community, and adds that shutting OpenIV down won't stop exploiters from tampering with GTA Online anyway. "I have every confidence that those manipulating online will continue to do so. They always find a way."
