A fan-project aiming to enhance the original Red Dead Redemption's visuals via emulation has been cancelled, after a lawsuit was filed by the copyright holders. Initially announced in August of this year, a video was posted to YouTube showing footage of Red Dead Redemption running on PC through Xbox 360 emulator Xenia, boasting improvements such as better textures, shaders, weather effects, and other graphical tweaks. Development on the project, which was titled "Red Dead Redemption: Damned Enhancement" lasted until September, where progress was halted, until resuming again sometime in November. On December 26th, Take-Two, who originally published and owned the IP rights to Red Dead Redemption, filed a legal complaint, intending to cancel the enhancement project.

Take-Two brings this action to maintain control over its world-famous video games in the face of Wyckoff’s publicly stated intent to distribute unauthorized software files that would dramatically change the content of Take-Two’s video games. Those unauthorized changes include but are not limited to importing the entire game map of 2010’s Red Dead Redemption into the 2018 game Red Dead Redemption II, enhancing graphics and visuals in Take-Two’s Red Dead Redemption game, and allowing players to play an enhanced version of the game on personal computer (“PCs”), a platform for which Take-Two itself has not yet released the Read Dead Redemption game.

The publisher claimed that this fan-project would interfere with a possible market for an official PC port of Red Dead Redemption 1 in the future, even though the company does not have any current intention to release such. They also claim that his modding infringes upon Take-Two's rights, stating that Wyckoff, the developer, was contacted numerous times by their legal team, and never responded to takedown requests, leading to the company taking legal recourse. Besides Wyckoff, ten other defendants were also involved in the lawsuit, though they remain unnamed as "John Doe(s)".

Wyckoff has knowingly, intentionally, and willfully infringed Take-Two’s rights and will continue to do so upon the release of the Infringing Programs unless enjoined and, upon information and belief, Wyckoff already has profited by violating Take-Two’s rights and User Agreement. As a result, Take-Two has been left with no choice but to file this lawsuit seeking injunctive relief and damages that it will suffer as a result of Wyckoff’s direct and contributory copyright infringement under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., as well as for his breach of Take-Two’s User Agreement and his tortious interference with Take-Two’s contracts with other Take-Two game players using his modifications.

Currently, Wyckoff has cancelled the enhancement pack, and his other RDR mod, "RDRII Project", saying that he is in talks with Take-Two to settle the legal matter.

Source: Legal Document filed in the State of New York (via TorrentFreak)

Tags: [GAME=/game/red-dead-redemption.434]Red Dead Redemption[/GAME]

 

[kumikochan]

Most of you are missing the point. It's all fine and dandy to release mods and tools, what it's not fine to do is distribute game files that do not belong to you. Take Two have no issues with mods, they have an issue with someone violating copyright laws.

I'm guessing you missed all the other bans and takedowns when it comes to mods. Take 2 hasn't been a friendly studio for quite some time now. You can literally google all the gta mods they've taken down. A good example would be this article from 2017 where even Rockstar is calling them out to calm down
https://www.polygon.com/2017/6/23/15864600/rockstar-taketwo-openiv-gta-mod-legal-cease-desist

 

[Bladexdsl]

every time i see one of these fan projects i always have the same reaction. start the countdown till DMCA! the guy should have known with Take Two's record on crushing mods. just because you can do it doesn't mean you should!

 

[Captain_N]

When are these fan contend creators gonna wise up and not mention the content till its finished. Once its finished and out there it cant be shut down. Look how the guy that made new super mario land. he made it in secret and then just leased it.

 

[HideoKojima]

I'm sure they will still release it but instead of calling it Fan project, it will be called Hack lol

 

[ChibiMofo]

This is bad news. Companies now targeting fan projects. Can't see whats wrong with improving a game through emulation. Don't most PC games have mods which improve gameplay.

No, it's great news. This biased story above doesn't tell the whole story. This dude was charging for his mod, and his mod amounted to adding the entire unreleased (on PC) game to the existing game. That's not just some fan mod. And he ignored repeated requests to stop. Anyone who does that is a criminal, not some random fan.

https://torrentfreak.com/take-two-f...redemption-damned-enhancement-project-191228/

I don't care whether any of you like it or not, you protect your IP or you lose it. Take-Two was absolutely right to do this and showed tremendous restraint in asking him to cease multiple times before filing the lawsuit.

 

[Deleted User]

No, it's great news. This biased story above doesn't tell the whole story. This dude was charging for his mod, and his mod amounted to adding the entire unreleased (on PC) game to the existing game. That's not just some fan mod. And he ignored repeated requests to stop. Anyone who does that is a criminal, not some random fan.

https://torrentfreak.com/take-two-f...redemption-damned-enhancement-project-191228/

I don't care whether any of you like it or not, you protect your IP or you lose it. Take-Two was absolutely right to do this and showed tremendous restraint in asking him to cease multiple times before filing the lawsuit.

I agree that you should´t charge money for a fan hack. The link you posted states that he accepted donations for his work and Take Two considered this payment. I consider this a minor difference.

 

[Ev1l0rd]

I don't care whether any of you like it or not, you protect your IP or you lose it.

That's trademarks, not IP. Copyright is inalienable and won't be lost if you don't enforce it.

No, it's great news. This biased story above doesn't tell the whole story. This dude was charging for his mod, and his mod amounted to adding the entire unreleased (on PC) game to the existing game. That's not just some fan mod. And he ignored repeated requests to stop. Anyone who does that is a criminal, not some random fan.

He wasn't quite charging money, but solliciting donations. And yeah, this guy basically put up the middle finger when he got C&Ded.

He burned his ass on the coal and now he has to sit on the blisters as they would say in my language.

 

[Joom]

it's like companies think we don't own the hardware and software we well... own.

Because you don't. You pay for the license to use it. Think more "one time rental fee" than "purchase to own".

 

[SSB]

So was this actually a paid mod?

 

[codezer0]

Seriously, what the fuck is the houser brother's problem? The entire reason they even have gta in the first place was as a result of a mod they made to their game in-house. Now they want to arrest modders and sue ex employees. Like, what in the actual fuck?

 

[Ev1l0rd]

So was this actually a paid mod?

The creator sollicited donations.

Seriously, what the fuck is the houser brother's problem? The entire reason they even have gta in the first place was as a result of a mod they made to their game in-house. Now they want to arrest modders and sue ex employees. Like, what in the actual fuck?

Look up how copyright works.

In-house mods are entirely legal since they own the right to make derivative works. A fan does not have the right to make derivative works.* That's simply how copyright works.

*: exception is if the copyright holder says you can do so.

 

[codezer0]

The notion of copyright was poisoned the moment dmca became a thing.

The housers need about 70 or 80 bullets in each butt cheek for the kind of entitled jackasses they are. Bad enough they openly abuse their staff, but this kind of contempt for even their fans is inexcusable.

 

[jesus96]

they got pissed because they where planning to release a shitty port on their launcher

 

[codezer0]

they got pissed because they where planning to release a shitty port on their launcher

A much more likely thing, knowing rockstar.

 

[chrisrlink]

cant be worse than that 14 year old who got sued by epic by exploiting a game bug in fortnite.....Epic always takes the cake for douchebaggery T2 is a close second though

 

[Deleted User]

I hate how companies close down fan made projects. Why can't they be happy that they have such a caring fanbase instead of shutting them out?
Their fans wallets keeps the food on their tables and the roofs above their heads. They should consider that before filing other lawsuits on shit like this.

 

[lincruste]

"not yet". Fuckers.

 

[stanleyopar2000]

When are these fan contend creators gonna wise up and not mention the content till its finished. Once its finished and out there it cant be shut down. Look how the guy that made new super mario land. he made it in secret and then just leased it.

Let's not forget BomberGames glorious Streets of Rage remake. They provided zero to little updates until it released. By the time Sega sent a cease-and-desist letter, it was available on hundreds of mirrors and can still be obtained quite easily today because of that.

This is the way you need to do shit nowadays. No blog updates. No YouTube. No nothing. Especially no Patreon. Because as soon as you do some fucker from Kotaku desperate for clickbait is going to give you exposure on the front page and blow niche lid on your project wide open to exposure.

 

[Deleted User]

Copyright Attorney Leonard French going through the Red Read Redemption PC mod lawsuit on his Youtube channel.

 

[Luke94]

How unfortunate I guess that would happen even with MOTHER 3 3D gameplay videogame series industry prototype too as well.