Rockstar Games is currently facing controversy after allegedly issuing copyright strikes against two videos by original Grand Theft Auto developer Mike Dailly. The videos featured him showing old development materials.
In a tweet, Dailly–a founder of DMA Design, which is now Rockstar North– said: “I see Rockstar are going full f*ckers mode again, issuing copyright strikes to any GTA video they can find–including both my prototype videos.
“So now they’re trying to block all release of anyone’s work on a game–and any old development footage.”
The prototype video showed one of the original builds of GTA, which was created back in the mid-90s. Back then, DMA Designs was still more known for the Lemmings franchise. Dailly was the first employee at DMA and had created the graphics engine for GTA.
Several of the original developers from DMA still have some behind-the-scenes footage from the early development videos, something that is a rare find today.
Dailly’s allegation seems to suggest that Rockstar is targeting videos like this, with his tweet being the first notable public mention of the situation.
His Twitter was also hit by another similar takedown, with a link to download a 25-year-old GTA 2 design document being removed.
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
