Kamal Ghorui
CD Projekt Red has forced the removal of a popular unofficial VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077, citing legal concerns over the creator charging for access to the modification. Luke Ross, a VR modder, announced via his Patreon that CD Projekt had issued a DMCA takedown notice for the game’s VR mod. The issue centres on Ross placing the VR mod behind a Patreon paywall, which the developer considers a sale of access to modified game content.Ross has created numerous ‘REAL VR’ mods for other games, including Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Elden Ring, and Final Fantasy VII Remake. The Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod was among his most popular projects before being taken down.
What the modder said about CD Projekt Red takes down Cyberpunk 2077’s VR version
Comparing the situation to a similar GTA takedown by Take-Two Interactive, Ross said: “At least they were a little more open about it, and I could get a reply both from their legal department and from the VP of business development. But in the end it amounted to the same iron-clad corpo logic: every little action that a company takes is in the name of money, but everything that modders do must be absolutely for free.”
What CD Projekt Red said about removing Cyberpunk 2077’s VR version
CD Projekt states in its ‘Fan Guidelines’ that content created by the community should have “[n]o commercial usage,” making it relatively straightforward where Ross violated the rules.“We’d love for your fan content to be created by fans, for fans. Therefore, you cannot do anything with our games for any commercial purpose, unless explicitly permitted otherwise below (e.g. see section 3 about videos and streams). We’re happy for you to accept reasonable donations in connection with your fan content, but you’re not allowed to make people pay for it or have it behind any sort of paywall (e.g. don’t make content only available to paid subscribers),” the studio noted.Still, there may be a way for CD Projekt to release an official VR version. Flat2VR Studios, the studio behind VR ports such as Trombone Champ, Half-Life 2 VR and Surviving Mars: Pioneer, has approached CD Projekt with a proposal for its own officially sanctioned version.
