The modder behind a paywalled Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod has accused CD Projekt RED of following “in Take-Two Interactive Software’s steps,” after its legal team issued their project with a DMCA takedown notice. Clearly undeterred, the same modder has even gone ahead and released a VR mod for Baldur’s Gate 3. It uses the same paywalled method of distribution that got them into trouble with Cyberpunk 2077.
Luke Ross (not his real name, according to The Verge) is a somewhat infamous figure within the VR modding community. His “R.E.A.L. VR” project is a singular mod that supports dozens of high-profile video games, including Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy and Marvel’s Spider-Man.
The catch is that the R.E.A.L. VR mod requires a $10 monthly subscription to download directly through Luke Ross’ Patreon. While you could easily download everything you need with a one-off payment, you’d need to renew your subscription if one of the games is updated. If you’re curious as to how much Luke Ross is making off of said subscription, The Verge estimated that he was earning roughly $20,000 per month back in 2022.
Requiring payment for a mod is obviously against most publishers’ terms of service, which is why Ross’ R.E.A.L. VR project has previously been subject to a DMCA takedown by Take-Two Interactive for its Red Dead Redemption II and Grand Theft Auto V support.
Based on a lengthy rant in the “About” section of his Patreon page in which he admonishes Take-Two for their “hostile behavior toward modders and gamers alike,” the VR modder doesn’t make much of a distinction between himself and those who release their mods for free.
A new post on his Patreon now projects that same ire at CD Projekt Red. It blasts the Polish RPG-maker for its “iron-clad corpo logic” over the fact that “every little action that a company takes is in the name of money, but everything that modders do must be absolutely for free.” “As usual they stretch the concept of ‘derivative work’ until it’s paper-thin, as though a system that allows visualizing 40+ games in fully immersive 3D VR was somehow built making use of their intellectual property,” Ross writes.
This post went up on January 17. Since then, R.E.A.L. VR has been updated to include support for Baldur’s Gate 3. Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast’s parent company, has been quite liberal with its use of DMCA takedowns in the past, so I wouldn’t expect R.E.A.L. VR’s Baldur’s Gate 3 support to stick around for long.
Turning Cyberpunk 2077 VR into a modding live service
If I were to play devil’s advocate for a second, I do think there’s something to Luke Ross’ rants. R.E.A.L. VR is obviously not on the same level as your average mod, and likely requires a lot of upkeep. It’s hard to see a way in which he could continue to support it without some sort of monetary incentive.
On the other hand, there’s a very straightforward loophole here that Ross is doubtlessly aware of and that hundreds of other modders take advantage of: donations. Instead of charging a one-off payment or a subscription for a mod, others release all of their mods for free and allow appreciative users to donate to them instead. There’s less danger with this method since donating is completely optional.
Plenty of mod users don’t like mod paywalls either. A popular mod adding DLSS upscaling support to Starfield back at launch sparked its own controversy when it was put behind a similar monthly subscription paywall. It seems the community is wise to Ross’ strategy, however, with many commenters over on the virtual reality subreddit taking CDPR’s side.
“This is not the first mod the Modder had taken down because he tried to make a Live Service out of it,” wrote user Frraksurred. “He knew he was outside the ToS and just chose to get away with it as long as he could. Now he’s trying to play the victim.” Others agreed. “Good,” wrote user PelluxNetwork. “Paywalled mods are disgusting. Take donations, no worries there, but pay-walling your copyright infringement should be an obvious no.”
