Copy of Grand Theft Auto that runs in a web browser gets taken down by DMCA — Take Two says DOS Zone infringed company’s intellectual property rights despite disclaimers and requirement to own original copy of title for full game

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games and owner of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, just issued a DMCA takedown request for the online port of GTA: Vice City hosted by DOS Zone. This has forced the online platform to remove the game from its library, which allowed players to run the large-scale game directly from their browser. An email from Ebrand, a global online brand protection firm acting on behalf of the owner of the GTA franchise, stated that DOS Zone must remove content and functionality that referenced or enabled anyone to use the game or any other Take-Two titles, including the game demo.

“It has come to our attention that your website is hosting and promoting a browser-based project that uses that name ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,’” the letter said. It also added, “Your website further invites users to input data and keys from original game copies to access or unlock functionality. This activity facilitates unauthorized use of copyrighted game content and may constitute circumvention of technological protection measures, in violation of applicable copyright law, including the DMCA. Despite the disclaimers published on your site, your project is not authorized, licensed, endorsed, or approved by Take-Two or Rockstar Games. The use of our client’s trademarks, copyrighted materials, and game-related references in this manner is misleading to users and constitutes infringement of Take-Two’s intellectual property rights.”

According to Strebeck Law, video game copyright for work-for-hire titles (such as GTA: Vice City, developed by a team for Rockstar Games) lasts for 95 years from the publication date or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever comes first. Since the game launched in 2002 for PlayStation 2 and the following year for Windows and Xbox, it means that we’ll have to wait until 2097 before it enters the public domain, and we can play and modify the game without going through Take-Two (or any of its successor organizations).

This hasn’t stopped users from creating reverse-engineered “open-source” versions of the game and posting them on GitHub, though. We see three versions available on the developer platform at the time of writing, with one of them looking like a copy of the code used on DOS Zone. It appears these haven’t been affected by Take-Two’s DMCA request, but if the company acts against them, Microsoft would likely comply and remove them as well.

Take-Two is known for strictly protecting its assets against unauthorized ports, mods, remakes, and leaks, but it’s still not as historically aggressive as Nintendo, which is known to sue even YouTubers and reviewers. So, it’s not surprising that the former took action against DOS Zone, especially as it still sells new copies of GTA: Vice City for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS. It would likely have been better if Take-Two had created an online version of GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, as it would allow anyone to play those titles on any device. However, it’s likely not in the cards as the company is working hard to deliver GTA VI, which, although it has already been delayed twice, is expected to drop in November 2026.

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