The creator of the R.E.A.L VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077 has spoken out about a difficult situation he is currently facing. Following a DMCA strike issued by CD Projekt Red earlier this week, the mod was taken down. The developer now claims that he is being punished by pirates who are sharing his modifications online without permission.
In a recent statement made to IGN, the creator, Luke Ross, was asked if he would consider releasing the Cyberpunk 2077 mod for free. He responded by explaining that doing so would require a significant amount of work. He also mentioned that he believes there is little point in making the mod free due to the rampant piracy already occurring.
“I do not rule out releasing the mod free for everyone, but it would take time,” Ross explained. He noted that his software supports over forty different games and various completely different engines. This makes creating a version that specifically supports only Cyberpunk 2077 a non-trivial task. Additionally, he expressed concern for the people who have voluntarily given money to support his development efforts. They might not be happy seeing the mod given away suddenly just because he was bullied into it.
Ross continued by stating that the situation has become somewhat of a moot point. Following the unexpected DMCA strike and the removal of the mod from his Patreon page, people afraid of losing VR support for their favorite games have started pirating the mod. They are illegally exchanging the file all over the Internet. Ross noted that these individuals are brazenly saying that since he was not complying with CD Projekt Red’s Terms of Service, his work is now fair game. They believe he should be punished by having it stolen. In a sense, Ross feels that CD Projekt Red already got what they wanted.
The mod itself was not the direct reason why Ross received the notice. The issue stemmed from its availability behind a Patreon paywall, alongside several other R.E.A.L VR mods Ross has created over the years. According to CD Projekt Red, this broke their ‘fan guidelines’ document. These guidelines prevent selling content derived from CD Projekt’s works for money.
The company also shared a document with Ross stating their position. It read: “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.” The company specifically mentioned not making content available only to paid
Ross publicly pushed back against this decision on his Patreon page. He wrote that it amounted to the same iron-clad corporate logic. He argued that every little action a company takes is in the name of money, but everything that modders do must be absolutely for free. As usual, he felt they stretched the concept of ‘derivative work’ until it was paper thin. He questioned how a system that allows visualizing forty-plus games in fully immersive 3D VR could be built making use of their intellectual property.
