Back before the release of the "Grand Theft Auto 3 Trilogy" remake,
the best way to play the GTA3 and GTA:Vice City were with the "re3"
and "reVC" mods, which updated the games to use wide-screen, and added
a bunch of bug fixes, compatibility updates, and even some new
functions. Essentially, they were an all-in-one mod that allowed you
to play games written in 2000 on hardware developed in 2020; a
love-letter from dedicated fans who didn't want to see their favorite
games left in the ash-heap of old games left behind by the relentless progression of new hardware and operating systems.

So of course Take-Two, the owners of the GTA franchise, decided to sue
them.

The reasons were the usual; "they're infringing on our copyright!",
even though the mods themselves required players to own the original
games (and, IIRC, the modders took pains not to include any Take-Two
code or assets in their releases). The real reason, of course, was
that Take-Two was just about to release their own (sub-par) upgrade to
the games, and they didn't want the competition. So even though the
legality of their claim was questionable, it was still easier (and
more profitable) to get the mod temporarily delisted by suing the
modders.

But now that the official remaster has had its rush of new sales,
there's no need for for the lawsuit, and all charges have been dropped
(with prejudice, meaning Take-Two can't refile against the modders at
a later date). Which only goes to show how meritless this case was in
the first place. It's unfortunate that a counter-suit can't be filed
against Take Two.

Still, it's good news in the end, since now hopefully the re3/reVC
mods can be reposted and people can play the game using those mods. In
many ways, I preferred the mods to the official remasters, which felt
truer to the original games than Take Two's efforts (which often went
overboard with their chances). So "Yay!" for the good guys this time.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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