CD Projekt Red has issued a DMCA takedown notice against the popular Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod, forcing its removal from the internet. The mod’s developer, Luke Ross, refused the company’s ultimatum to make it free and removed the project entirely instead.
The R.E.A.L. VR mod developed by Luke Ross transformed Cyberpunk 2077 into a fully immersive virtual reality experience. However, the mod was distributed exclusively through Patreon, requiring a monthly $10 subscription. CD Projekt Red deemed this monetization strategy a violation of their fan content guidelines and took action.
Official Statement from CD Projekt Red
Jan Rosner, VP of CD Projekt Red, announced the DMCA strike on Twitter:
In his statement, Rosner wrote:
We issued a DMCA strike for the “Cyberpunk VR” mod created by Luke Ross, as it was available as a paid mod (only accessible to Patreon subscribers). This directly violates our Fan Content Guidelines: we never allow monetization of our IP without our direct permission and/or an agreement in place.
Rosner added that the company had contacted Luke the previous week, requesting that he either make the mod free for everyone (with optional donations) or remove it entirely.
Luke Ross Hits Back
Luke Ross responded sharply to the takedown:
Thank you Jan. I’m sorry but I don’t believe you are within your rights in demanding that my software needs to be free. It is not “derivative work” or “fan content”: it supports a large number of games which were built upon different engines, and it contains absolutely zero code or assets from your IP.
Ross compared the situation to overlay software like RivaTuner, arguing that screen-capture and processing tools should not be considered copyright infringement.
Four Years of Work Erased
In a lengthy post on his Patreon page, Luke Ross expressed his frustration:
For four years, I spent so much time keeping our mods alive despite CDPR’s constant breaking updates. They never even knew or cared during all this time that the VR conversion was there, and are only knee-jerk reacting now because somebody reported to them that it existed and it was not free.
Ross went on to critique the double standards of major publishers:
—“Are you considering an official VR port of your game?”—“HAHAHA, you must be delusional, why would we spend our precious money building something only because gamers yearn for it, when there’s no clear return on investment”. —“Are you allowing developers to be at least supported financially while they do the work you refuse to do?”—“ABSOLUTELY NOT, we are okay with it if they give all their time and expertise for free, but it’s downright shameful for them to ask for money”.
Second Major Crackdown After Take-Two
This marks the second major DMCA strike Luke Ross has faced from a AAA publisher. Earlier, Take-Two Interactive took similar action against the GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 VR mods.
CD Projekt Red acknowledged their admiration for the modding community and called Luke’s Cyberpunk 2077 work “nothing short of amazing.” Nevertheless, the company remained firm that any commercialization of their IP requires explicit permission.
Baldur’s Gate 3 VR Coming
Following the Cyberpunk 2077 takedown, Luke Ross announced his next project: Baldur’s Gate 3 VR mod. He stated, “Despite everything, I really want to end this on a positive note,” and revealed that the new mod is coming soon.
The R.E.A.L. VR mod package will be updated with Cyberpunk 2077 support removed. Currently supported games include Elden Ring, Days Gone, Far Cry 5, Far Cry New Dawn, and Far Cry 6.
What This Means for the VR Modding Community
This incident sets an important precedent for paid mod developers. With both Take-Two and CD Projekt Red adopting similar stances, other major publishers may follow suit.
Community members encouraged Ross to republish the mod as free or donation-based, but he declined, standing firm that he deserves compensation for four years of dedicated work.