There still might not yet be a release date for GTA 6’s PC port, but Rockstar appear to be preparing for the massive uptick in mods for their games that’ll inevitably accompany it. In new modding guidelines posted this month, the studio have expressly warned against a bunch of things modders could do, including building on established storylines from the base game, pulling over bits of older GTAs, and porting the game to platforms it’s not hit yet.

Rockstar’s new modding guidelines were originally posted on September 10th, but seemingly only unearthed this past weekend by posters on ResetEra and other social sites. They’re pitched as general modding rules for all of Rockstar’s games, but with GTA 6’s initial console launch not too far away, it’s hard not to see them as the studio setting their current position in stone before releasing their next big game.

The guidelines have been broken up into four sections: one about not infringing on copyright, one about obeying Rockstar’s community rules about treating other players acceptably, one about “unauthorized or abusive monetisation”, and finally one pitched as being about respecting Rockstar’s games. The latter’s given top priority and issues the following decrees regarding the sorts of mods the company won’t tolerate:

• Do not expand or modify Rockstar Games’ official storylines, plots, missions, characters, or other elements of our established continuity.
• Do not make mods that combine maps, locations, characters, storylines, in-game assets, or other IP from one Rockstar Games title into another title.
• Multiplayer modding is limited to Rockstar Games’ official licensed Creator Platform or else as otherwise licensed directly by Rockstar Games.
• Do not modify our games to operate on consoles, hardware devices, or other platforms where they have not been officially released by Rockstar Games.

Naturally, some of those are categories modding projects Rockstar have taken action against in recent years would fall under. The “friendly takedown” of the Liberty City Preservation Project, a re-creation of GTA 4’s version of New York in GTA 5, is the main one that comes to mind for me, and would have fit the bill of combining the maps of multiple Rockstar Games in one. As would YouTuber Dark Space’s efforts to re-create GTA 6’s map in GTA 5 prior to a March 2025 takedown order. “Rockstar Games creates unique worlds, characters, and stories, which form the official continuity of our games,” reads the company’s intro to the game-respecting section. “Like all creators, we have the right to set limits on how others can use our games and brand.”

The limiting of multiplayer mods to places officially licensed by Rockstar is arguably a bit cheeky, given the company have bought up roleplay modding team Cfx.re, makers of the previously unofficial FiveM and RedM multiplayer mods.

Noteworthy discouraged modding elements or activities from the other sections include “cheat menus or other software that interferes with Rockstar Games’ official multiplayer, online services, or licensed Creator Platform” and “conflict roleplay or military simulations depicting real-world armed organisations”.

In terms of monetisation, Rockstar specify that it can only be done via “via digital storefront providers approved by Rockstar Games and in compliance with all applicable laws, rules, and policies”. Mods are explicitly barred from including “real money gambling, ‘loot boxes,’ ‘gacha,’ or similar chance mechanics for real money”, with the same applying to selling “in-game virtual currency” or trying to hawk cryptocurrency. Finally, any third-party promotion or advertising through mods will get you put on the naughty list.

In theory, having a proper list of things Rockstar aren’t fans of modding-wise out in the open could be useful for modders in terms of being aware whether an idea they have carries any risk of incurring takedown action or a less formal reach out from the company telling them to knock it off. That said, Rockstar make clear that they “can revise this policy at any time” and “reserve the right to take down any mod or other user generated content at any time for any reason”, meaning that works which fall outside of these rules aren’t guaranteed to be safe ground either.

I don’t reckon the new guidelines will have much of an impact in terms of what GTA 6’s modding scene looks like, unless they lead some larger modding groups not to put years of effort into ambitious ideas they now know for sure Rockstar won’t like and thus may come to naught but wasted time. Beyond that, people will still make the mods they want to for GTA 6 and Rockstar will go after whichever targets they deem worth the effort to take down, as has been the case up until now.