‘Cyberpunk 2077’ VR Mod Taken Down Following Legal Complaint, But There May Still Be Hope

By
Scott Hayden
-
71

Luke Ross, the prolific VR modder, has been forced to remove his popular Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod, citing legal concerns from CD PROJEKT.

The News

Ross released word via his Patreon on Saturday that Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt had issued a DMCA takedown notice for the removal of the game’s unofficial VR mod—just one of many ‘REAL VR’ mods from Ross, which include Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Elden Ring, and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

And it seems to boil down to Ross having placed the VR mod behind a Patreon paywall—essentially selling access to it, CD Projekt maintains.

“At least they were a little more open about it, and I could get a reply both from their legal department and from the VP of business development,” Ross says, comparing proceedings to a similar takedown by Take Two Interactive. “But in the end it amounted to the same iron-clad corpo logic: every little action that a company takes is in the name of money, but everything that modders do must be absolutely for free,” Ross says.

CD Projekt states in its ‘Fan Guidelines’ however that content created by the community should have “[n]o commercial usage,” making it fairly clear where Ross ran afoul.

“We’d love for your fan content to be created by fans, for fans. Therefore, you cannot do anything with our games for any commercial purpose, unless explicitly permitted otherwise below (e.g. see section 3 about videos and streams). 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 (e.g. don’t make content only available to paid subscribers).”

Still, there may be a way for CD Projekt to release an official VR version. Flat2VR Studios, the studio behind VR ports such as Trombone Champ, Half-Life 2 VR and Surviving Mars: Pioneer, has propositioned CD Projekt for its own officially sanctioned version.

Check out Cas & Chary’s hands-on with the mod below:

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My Take

It’s not a cautionary tale just yet, but it takes just one overzealous publisher to really ruin a VR modder hoping to monetize. While it doesn’t seem to be Luke Ross’ case with either Take Two or CD Projekt, the possibility of invoking the wrath of a corporate legal department is a real risk, which could include more than just a DMCA takedown.

Depending on how litigious a company is, they could go as far as prying into a modder’s revenue to see how much money they made off the mod’s release, and demanding statutory damages as a result. Although the mod has been up since 2022, Ross seems to have complied with takedown notice quickly, which has probably kept him safe from facing those sorts of actions.

That said, I have my doubts we’ll ever see an official VR version. I love the idea of Flat2VR Studios giving Cyberpunk 2077 the VR treatment, but it does have the potential to cause community backlash.

If it’s a VR port, some users may ask: “why would I buy a VR version of the game I already own?” Or, provided VR support becomes a paid add-on to the game: “why would I buy VR support that I already paid for?” Either way, its not a good look for a company to so clearly money grub.

As it is, I think the ship has sailed on Ross making the Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod free, which means either Flat2VR picks it up, or a third party creates their own free VR mod. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Arturs Gerskovics

    I'd pay full game price again if they make official VR!

    • Arno van Wingerde

      You might and I bet a number of VR users may, but if that is 2% of the existing user base, is that enough to be worth it for the company. After all, it is not just a mod, they must also fix bugs, adapt it for newer content and changes to the 2D game… it may not be worth it!

    • Tonanamous

      In VR, it would go very well with my Steam Deckard Headset (No I will not refer to it by its lame name)

      • Peter vasseur

        The frame name!

  • Arno van Wingerde

    Scott, I typically like the reporting on VR here, but this article seems a bit one-sided. The modder asks $9.- per Monat to be able to install a mod. In principle, at this time, the mod keeps working if you quit Patreon, but that might change… and every time you need a new version it is another $9.-
    Stay member for a year and you paid $108.- more than for the game itself.
    So whereas I like the fact that people add VR mods and that the publisher allows this, I can see they draw a line for priced options, as they allow donations as well.

    • Dragon Marble

      Now that the mod is taken down, you can't even get support or refund if it stops working. Luke Ross's approach is always fraught with legal/ethical problems.

      On the other hand, for an official port, of course people should pay. So I don't understand the "money grub" argument at the end of the article either.

      • Joseph Kerr

        He can do what most modders do, release the mod for free and accept donations. Instead he acts like a corpo, and he got called out in it and did the corpo. At the end of the day he isn't doing this for the community, for the experience, for the love of the game, for any of that, he's doing it for money, pure and simple. CDPR allows free mods and even let's their modders accept donations, what they don't want is people using their art and their game to get people stuck in a monthly microtransaction. This dude has essentially made his own seasonal battle pass using a different companies work. He's a corpo through and through

        • Arno van Wingerde

          OTOH though: these mods are obviously in demand, and now they are not available … choices, choices!

          • Joseph Kerr

            There are other ways to play it in VR though

        • Dragon Marble

          You probably missed my point. I was agreeing with the OP and pointing out the ethical issue of charging people for a mod that you can't guarantee long-term support.

    • Peter

      It's not just a CP2077 mod though. Luke adds new games constantly. There's about 40 games now supported by his mod. $9 a month is steal for making so many games VR capable. He's made basically the only AAA VR games – CP2077, The last of us 1 and 2, red dead 2 etc. It's only fair he gets paid for his outstanding work

      • dextrovix

        Well, he should adopt Praydog's donation methodology then, only then his mod wouldn't have to be taken down.

      • Joseph Kerr

        Congrats you've signed up for the most ridiculous battle pass in gaming lol

  • JanO

    To CDPR: Do your thing and then, hands-off!
    This requires a totally legit copy of your game, WTF?

    I never cared for Ross' mods, but to me this is the same as a movie studio shutting a media player software down. It plays your media on a new platform… Get over it or do it better.

    • Christian Schildwaechter

      Again, CDPR is not trying to stop mods, and not even trying to stop modders from making money from it, as long as users offer to do so voluntarily to help with the effort. The sole thing they complained about is the modder FORCING users to pay, because this turns the mod into a commercial service, which was always prohibited by their EULA.

      A lot of software has limitations for commercial use. For example you weren't allowed to use a Quest in a business setting for years, and after the introduction of their recently killed business program you were only allowed to do so if you bought the technical identical business version at twice the price, with the sole difference being the license. Not sure if it is still in there, but in the past the Windows EULA explicitly prohibited using it to run a nuclear power plant, most likely to never get drawn into the astronomical regress demands in case of a nuclear accident.

      Companies can absolutely define under which circumstances their software is used, and that includes what tool you can use with it. And technically Ross's mod requires a copy of CD Project's game to function, without them ever having given permission to sell such an add-on, and legally he cannot simply claim that it is the users breaking CD Projects license agreement.

      Running an aim assist tool with your totally legit copy of your game will get you banned, and the company offering that aim assist tool will get a much less friendly DCMA takedown request than Ross got from CD Project, referring to their license that explicitly forbid offering mods as a paid-only service. And they left the door open for him to keep working on the mod and still make money by making it available for free but stating that new updates would only be released if a certain monthly threshold is met on Patreon, because this way it would again be up to the users to decide to support the developer. He decided to drop the project instead.

      • John Smith

        They did not actually go after him for breach of their EULA (perhaps difficult to prove) but used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Luke has a point though in saying it is his own IP (like a display driver such as Nvidia 3DVision, or VorpX, or Optiscaler). But as one person you can't risk a legal battle against a multi billion dollar corporation like CDPROJECTRED. Perhaps he should also switch to selling a software package like VorpX with a support plan.

      • JanO

        NO ONE is forcing anyone here.
        Users CHOOSE to pay for the mod.

        Most comments seem to come from Karen type gamers that somehow feel entitled…

    • Joseph Kerr

      The dude is charging a monthly subscription, a live service battle pass basically, to profit off of CDPR's work, and small patch they to do can break his mod and he can just say tough, that $500 you've spent over the last four years is gone, don't like it, unsubscribe. They didn't tell him he has to take it down, they didn't tell him he can't accept donations, they told him he can't charge a price, a monthly subscription no less, to use this mod. He needs to get over it and stop nickel and diming the community

      • John Smith

        Not really. You could have bought Cyberpunk on GOG, disabled updates and subscribed to his Patreon for 1 month for 10$. This would have also given you VR support for like 30 other AAA titles.

        • Joseph Kerr

          And just never update that or any of the other games, even if they have really bad bugs, without having to pay another $10 or admit that the first $10 was a waste. COOL.

  • psuedonymous

    When faced with the choice between complying with the ToS and making his mod free, or taking his toys and going home, he chose the latter.

    • geronimo

      If he made it free he would be expected to keep it updated, but now there's no more money in it. He should just open source it and let somebody post it on Nexus if he is done with it.

      • Joseph Kerr

        Not at all how free mods work. It having paid, requiring a monthly subscription to it no less, is what would make people expect it to be constantly updated

  • Jay Hovah

    In my knowledge of IP rights and consumer protection, I agree with CDPR. It's unregulated completely. Why defense does a mods costumer have to get a refund? Mods aren't needed, imo that's a developer building a portfolio to get a leg up when trying to get an industry job. Does the modder share profits with the company whose assets are manipulated?

    Modding isn't employment, it's a hobby. One update can break a mod you paid for forever if they don't update it. The same people complain about not owning games and don't see the similarities?

    • JanO

      Please Google "VHS", "DVD" and "Media player" to get some context about the freedoms consumers usually have over media content they possess.

      • Jay Hovah

        Thats irrelevant to charging money to manipulate the end product. There’s no argument you can mod. But charging money for a mod on a video game applies to what vhs, DVD or media player.
        Seriously, taking your examples, YOU show Me where the people are protected to SELL fan edits of Twin Peaks or Blade Runner?

        • JanO

          All I'm saying is I think this is short sighted…

          Back in the end of the 90's, when anyone tried to play Bladerunner on a "personal computer", he was flagged as the anti-christ of those days.

          Look at things now.

          Furthermore, CDPR having the balls to try and dictate what can /can't be done and how is the same misguided power trip the movie industry had back in the day.

          If they want this to go away, they can just do it better.

          It's not like its harming sales.

          Absolutely no one that goes through all the hoops required just to get the mod and to make it work is dumb enough not to know the unpredictable and totally unofficial nature of Ross' product.

          How's that different from previous products like VorpX ?

          How's that different from the many softwares that convert 2D movies to 3D?

          ???

          Now, I've never used Ross' mods, but if they are distributed in such a way that they do not contain any of CDPR's files or code, then I don't see a difference between this and "movie-type" media VS any software media player.

          Time will tell.

          • Joseph Kerr

            They are literally saying hey you don't get to make money off of our customers and our work with your monthly battle pass that you may end support for at any time, upsetting our customers. CDPR has literally hired modders before. This guy is charging people over a hundred dollars a year with his subscription just to play this game in VR, he's taking advantage of CDPR's customers with his unofficial product, hoping they sign up for his patreon and forget about it, he's taking one of the worst things about modern gaming and used it to ruin modding. I hope more companies shut down his battle passes.

            there is nothing stopping him from releasing his mod for free and accepting donations except his own corpo greed

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            TL:DR: It's much more complicated than just greed, with most users of free software being "greedy" themselves, never donating anything to support projects they massively benefit from, a big part of the problem.

            While I agree overall, the reality is that very few people support these projects on Patreon. If there is a way to get it free, most people will ignore any pleas to support the developers. That doesn't give Ross the right to put his Cyberpunk VR mod effectively behind a paywall when CDPR's license explicitly prohibits this, but I can at least understand why he doesn't just gladly switch to a "free plus voluntary donations" model.

            And in a way his success proves that his approach was right, making him a lot of money for what is no doubt also a lot of work to get more than 40 games to run in VR, and keep them running, providing tons of value to the VR community desperate for more AAA content. He explains this whole background on his Patreon page. I very much prefer Praydog counting on voluntary donations for UEVR, but know from many open source projects that this is in no way a reliable way to pay for development.

            IMHO it is okay for CDPR to ask him to take the mod down simply because this broke their license. It is also okay for him to ask people for money for his work, even if it also relies on the work of others like CDPR. And you can still get away with a one time payment and then not updating the games to prevent the mod from breaking and you having to subscribe for another month.

            If you aren't willing to mow a strangers lawn for free just because he demands it, neither should Ross be expected to provide mods for free just because VR users want them. He could chose to, and it is sad that he dropped Cyberpunk support instead of trying to find a way that would work for both him and CDPR, but in the end it is his time. And the fact that there aren't a hundred other Cyberpunk VR mods out there to replace his hints that there is indeed a lot of work involved, and that very few people are willing/can afford to do this for free, or just counting on voluntary donations.

          • Joseph Kerr

            I mean I’ve but tried Ross’s mod, but it’s dead easy to get this game running in 3d and do some simple head tracking to mouse input already. As it is with a lot of other games. Not really sure how much extra work he put in beyond that, since like I said I haven’t used it

            I honestly wouldn’t expect that this is someone that is at all difficult for him to do which is how he supports such a large swathe of games.

            It would honestly even be very easy for him to code something in so that it does break every single time even the tiniest of patches is updated in order to force people to stay subscribed.

            Poor example, modding is a hobby. It’s something that should be done out of love for the game and the community. Such A corpo mindset in your reply

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            Again, if it was that easy, someone else annoyed by the mod being locked behind a paywall would have went and released a free version supported only by donations. Just because you believe it must be easy does not mean it actually is, and the number of available mods hints that you underestimate the effort. Or maybe you just like to mention the word corpo a lot.

          • Joseph Kerr

            Again, it literally is that easy, you can use reshade to get almost any game running in VR.

            There are other ways available for cyberpunk in VR as well so I’m not even sure what point you have lol

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            Great, go and do it, everybody here will be happy and hopefully also be willing to donate something to compensate you for your contribution.

          • Joseph Kerr

            I have done it? Did you not read two posts ago where I told you I have?

            Why would anyone donate anything to me? I’m not the creator of reshade or the other mods I mention?

            Are you not following the conversation?

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            "Go and do it" as in providing a way for others to also do it, by either describing step by step how to get the same experience as Ross' Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod provided, or by offering your own mod. If how to do this was obvious and nobody actually ever needed the now no longer available mod, this whole article and the discussion thread with currently close to 40 comments wouldn't exist.

          • Joseph Kerr

            I don’t need to do either of those things as they already exist lol

            Most of those 40 comments are laughing at Ross, you and the author of this article are two of the only people defending this money hungry corpo

            This article existing and there being comments on it have absolutely nothing to do with the lack of ability to still play the game in VR. That argument is so riddled with logical fallacies, it isn’t even funny.

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            I dare you to actually provide a link to a step-by-step explanation how to run Cyberpunk in VR without using Ross' VR mod. Just remove any dots from the URL to work around the spam filter, in case you cannot do it "because one cannot post links here". I'll give you an example:

            www_vorpx_com/cyberpunk-vr-download/

            Pretty much all the instructions you'll find rely on Ross' VR mod. Maybe 5% explain how to use vorpX instead, which would usually be a one time EUR 39 purchase, but Ralf Ostertag provided a special Cyberpunk VR mod to the community for free to celebrate 10 years of playing flat games in VR with vorpX, the one in my example link.

            Most ways of using ReShade in Cyberpunk 2077 in VR still require Ross' VR mod for interaction, just using ReShade for SuperDepth3D. Yes, you can run Cyberpunk with only ReShade's Depth3D, but that just gives you a large virtual 3D screen, no VR 1st person integration. And there are still a few free VR injectors out there doing similar things to vorpX, but usually a lot worse and less comfortable.

            I bought vorpX years ago, consider it a great contribution to VR, but mostly to get things running in some form when no dedicated mod exists.. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to run flat games in VR, so I at least have a clue where to start looking. If your time is worth anything, the effort required to get one of the games supported by Ross' VR mods to run in VR without it will by far exceed what it costs to subscribe for a month, with often inferior results. I'm not a fan of Ross' approach at all, and never used one of his mods precisely because of that, but acknowledge that he contributes something valuable to PCVR.

            And your claims that all this is trivial and therefore not worth of any compensation, while at the same time refusing to point to those alleged sources actually providing what you claim makes such mods superfluous, are just a circle argument of not needing to provide prove that it is trivial because it is trivial and everybody knows, so you don't need to prove it. Or maybe you just can't and don't want to admit that. And really, trying to look cool by using Cyberpunk slang to denounce everything as "corpo" in every one of your comments just makes you look like a twelve year old.

          • Joseph Kerr

            Finding guides I used a year ago to prove you wrong isn’t worth the time to me. I have absolutely nothing to gain by doing so other than imaginary Internet points and I frankly don’t care enough, I’ve already spent more time on this comment thread then it’s been worth.

            I haven’t used corpo in every post and when I did it was only in attempt to satirize and mirror the language of this article, sorry if that went over your head lol

            Would you like me to comment on your attempts to goad me? Your repetitive use of strawman arguments? Or how about your attempts to attack me and not my argument?

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            As you are unwilling to provide sources it would probably be much more efficient if you just blocked me, saving both of us a lot of time.

          • Joseph Kerr

            Lmao

  • This guy makes a quarter million dollars a year from his Patreon alone. He's not a little guy.

    • Goober

      So the dude was set for life well before this takedown

  • Joseph Kerr

    So in other words, he was in no way forced to take it down, but chose to act like a money hungry corpo and is now screaming "nuh uh they did it"

  • Herbert Werters

    Luke Ross should have released the Cyberpunk mod separately and offered it for free as an advertising tool. That would have been much more beneficial for him. Something he can no longer give away and then hope that it will make more people curious about the other mods.

    I don't think it's very cool that you have to buy the mods, but I've had a lot of really good moments with them. If the studios don't do it, then so be it. If the modders want money for their time (just like companies do), then I can and must turn a blind eye. I think we wouldn't have this abundance of good mods otherwise.

    Incidentally, I wouldn't have played many of these games without these mods.

    I understand the problem, though. It's just that the VR mod niche is so irrelevant that I find the steps taken by Take Two and now CDPR really excessive. Let's have some fun or make our own VR option!

    • StillDontCare

      Spoken like someone who doesn't own IP. Allowing people to make money off of your intellectual property without any control over what they do is idiotic. Glad you had a good time with the VR mods but people like Ross are a problem. Modding isn't a job. It's a hobby. If he wants to get paid he should either accept donations or get a job.

      Requiring a monthly subscription to a mod of someone else's work is the most corporate thing I've ever seen.

      • Christian Schildwaechter

        There is no reason modding couldn't be a job, and a number of modders are able to do it full time thanks to getting enough donations. And not even subscriptions are the real problem here, if the mods require constant updates, and people are willing to pay for them due to the perceived value they get.

        The main issue here is that the terms of use for Cyberpunk 2077 forbid commercial services as in mods only available behind a paywall, and that has a lot to do with giving up the control over IP as you mentioned, and people's expectations, with things going wrong with the already paid for mod subscription at least partly falling back onto CDPR, who had nothing to do with it, and didn't benefit in any way.

        This isn't really a moral question, more a legal one, with the position that all modders are expected to work for free (hobby), only relying on the goodwill of the community, just as questionable as modders financially benefitting from the work of others without either their permission or paying them back.

        • Herbert Werters

          What about NVidia Vision software or the software for 3D monitors that make various games 3D-compatible? I assume that Asus/Acer/nVidia don't have any deals with publishers or developers either. Luke Ross doesn't sell hardware, only software. We all have hardware. I don't understand the problem. He's not distributing any code from the games and isn't violating any copyrights. The mods could be completely decoupled from this. Every user of this mod has to get the games themselves.

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            I don't know the details, I don't know how enforceable in court the CDPR Fan Guidelines linked above are, I don't know which options Ross would have had to counter the DMCA strike. What I do know is that you technically never own software like you'd own hardware, you are only granted a license that can be revoked if you don't follow the rules of that license. And if these rules say you cannot use their software with certain tools, and someone releases a tool that only works if it ignores that rule, this is covered by the DMCA, because it is considered deliberately breaking the intended use that the actual owner of the software has allowed.

            And CDPR very clearly said that a few things are not allowed. Section 2 of the Fan Guidelines lists "golden rules":

            1. No commercial usage
            2. Make it clearly ‘unofficial'
            3. Don’t put it in other games/products.
            4. Don’t hurt us or others.
            5. Follow the legal rules.

            Section 3 then lists special types of media with some exceptions, like video streams with ads for monetization. Regarding mods it says:

            Mods. We’re happy for you to make mods for our games (i.e. software that modifies or works with our games – e.g. changing the UI or adding new mechanics) so long as it doesn’t breach the relevant game’s EULA (e.g. no cheating – this is especially important for GWENT!). If you want to make a mod for another game or service using our content, or make the mod a standalone product, ask us in advance via legal@cdprojektred.com (we just don’t want the next Soulkiller virus).

            He broke the golden rules 1) by placing it behind a paywall and 5) by not following CDPRs EULA, and apparently didn't ask them for permission to "make a […] service using our content". His software doesn't do anything without CDPRs game, so it is not an independent product and cannot be completely decoupled, even if it was independently developed.

            The question isn't whether this type of tool/mod is allowed or not in general, the question is only if it is allowed for software from CDPR. And as they have specified it in their EULA and fan guidelines, it is not, and the DMCA made altering existing software a punishable offense. Nvidia's software will come with their own conditions, and you can bet that they disallow any tools that were created by reverse engineering their proprietary drivers, even if they are created independently and in the end do not contain any code from Nvidia. There is a big gray zone with things like firmware, with companies having tried to lock down hardware (which you can own and do with whatever you like) by turning it into "software" (which you do not own and are only allowed to use as long as you follow the license's rules) that way, which has been struck down in courts.

            I think the DMCA is a large clusterfuck and in most cases abused, causing lots of harm to people that cannot afford an army of lawyers. I acknowledge that some regulation like this was required, as otherwise people would have had to go to court every time someone used their content in a way not covered by the license, which would also mean that you'd need an army of lawyers. Both versions suck, but this is where we are right now. You can discuss whether mod should be free, whether Ross is "abusing" his "monopoly" on VR mods, or instead is a hero of the VR community, but that is pretty much irrelevant for the legal discussion.

            If you use software, you have to abide to the license, because you don't own the software, and these rules include what tools are allowed to use the software with under which circumstances. The only legal option you really have is not to buy/license the software, you cannot simply ignore the rules, and the DCMA gives the owners of the software a way to get you booted off tons of essential services like Patreon or GitHub if you get too many strikes, as the platform owner is made responsible for what others publish there, Patreon cannot simply ignore CDPR's DCMA takedown request by pointing at Ross.

          • Herbert Werters

            I find all this very unfortunate.

      • John Smith

        The monthly subscription is not required – one month is enough – and one could argue that it is his own IP similar to the Nvidia 3DVision display driver as it supports roughly 30 (or 40?) games.
        In any case it cost CDProjectRed no money – it brought in additional sales of Cyberpunk by VR enthusiasts like me who no longer play games in flat and would not have bought the game if his software was not available.

        • Herbert Werters

          The example with the NVidia Vision software is a very good one. The software could only be used in conjunction with the hardware and made all kinds of games available in 3D. I'm sure no studio or publisher complained about that. You also had to buy the hardware and software with money.

          What about these 3D monitors and their software that make all games 3D-capable? We're not allowed to do that either. Because you can only use this software if you buy the expensive monitor. But in principle it's the same thing, except that Luke Ross doesn't sell 3D glasses or monitors. Maybe he should add a Cardboard to the mod. ;)

      • Herbert Werters

        And if you open a T-shirt printing shop, you don't have to ask the T-shirt manufacturer if you can use their T-shirts as a basis. You run a restaurant and cook meals from food.

        Luke Ross takes the game, adds his code, and does nothing else with it. He doesn't copy anything from the games or sell pirated games.

        Anyone who wants to use these mods in VR has to purchase the game. Just like you have to buy eggs to make an omelet.

        If you were to sell a work, that wouldn't be possible. It's like using designs for which you don't have a license in a T-shirt printing shop. Luke Ross isn't distributing the game. In reality, there's no problem at all.

  • trmn8r

    Paywalling mods to a game that isn't yours is the real "money grub" here. Modding is a labor of love and often a stepping stone to become your own developer. See HL Alyx Gunman Contracts mod to now, releasing their own stand-alone version of the game so they are able to make money. This is not even creating new content for the game but adding VR features. CDPR is correct here.

    • John Smith

      The Luke Ross VR software supports 30-40 games. It needs to be updated whenever a game breaks compatibility. That's probably a full time job and relying entirely on donations probably does not work – not many people donate.
      Since his software generated additional sales at no cost for CDProjectRed by VR enthusiasts who would not have bought the game without VR support existing, I don't really see the point of CDProjectRed's actions. I don't think they will ever release an official VR support.

  • FRISH

    It's so annoying that so many people take the side of the billionaire corporations because "muh ToS". They take it down coz he's making money from his labour, but are they willing to implement VR themselves. No because it's not worth the labour costs. Fantastic…

    I don't like it being locked behind a subscription, but the thing is what is the alternative? Demanding he create and update the mods indefinitely for free is a big ask. I would love if someone did that, but if no-one is willing to do it then shutting down the mod just punishes people who want to be more immersed in the game.

    With the meta shutdowns and rockstar also shutting down the gta vr mod, it's a sad time for VR.

    • TiredOfIdiots

      Companies can absolutely define under which circumstances their software is used, and that includes what tool you can use with it. Ross deserves to be paid for his labor but his "labor" is using their IP as a framework. It's not about "muh TOS", it's about the fact that he is making money off of their product. A VR mod isn't transformative, it is literally using their assets.

      And as for AAA VR being limited, that's because VR is prohibitively expensive for the average person. Especially right now.

      • John Smith

        It is an interesting legal question. One could argue that Luke Ross' software is a technical piece of software like a display driver with the display being the VR headset. Perhaps you remember Nvidia's 3D Vision software and hardware? 3DVision did a similar thing essentially taking any Windows game into 3D through the Nvidia display driver. Did this harm the IP of the game publishers?

      • FRISH

        VR is not prohibitively expensive. You can get into it for less than a switch 2. People just don’t want to put the resources into making the content because it won’t pay out. Might as well just make a game for any other platform. But now it’s not just AAA studios who don’t want to invest, they want to shutdown the few people actually giving us something. I consider making a game VR to be transformative. How does it hurt CDPR to give more reasons to buy the game? It’s just greed imo. They’re not willing to put in the work and given that no-one decided to compete with luke ross and give a free option with donations as an option they weren’t either.

        It always feels weird to me that VR is considered expensive given the amount of people who will spend £500-£1500 every 2 years for a phone. VR uses the same mobile hardware if you’re getting something wireless and is a much younger industry.

  • Oxi

    I think it's fine to paywall mods, and if his mod doesn't use any of their copyrighted work they shouldn't be able to take it down.

    I think Flat2VR's offer is kind of laughable though, why would a massive AAA developer still making this game even remotely consider an offer like this from a small team in a niche industry?

    • Jaythediv

      I think the point of Flat2VR's offer is that there's very little direct risk to CDPR. If it doesn't make much money, it's not cost them anything, and they've not had to put in the engineering effort themselves.

      It's unlikely to make much money on CDPR's scale, but if done well (and Flat2VR have very good form) it would add cred and another way to enjoy the world they've created, as well as boost relevance of Cyberpunk yet again.

      CDPR are obviously hot on embracing new tech – they've been a showcase for new Ray tracing features for ages, did all the work to port to Switch etc. I think it's unlikely, but I would love to think that this mindset might make them open to Flat2VR's offer if they aren't going to support VR themselves.

      • XRC

        Flat2VR have done stellar work already and it raises the question of whether the PCVR software tap can be turned on again with carefully targeted ports of popular games, but not necessarily AAA, to keep costs sensible.

        Working with existing IP substantially cuts development time, making it possible to find profit despite the smaller user base compared to flat games.

        I'm currently playing Flat2VR's "Roboquest VR" port on steamVR and it's fantastic fun, looks great and plays well.

        Liked it so much I bought another copy as gift for a friend on steam.

      • Oxi

        Right but it’s like if New Blood asked to port Fallout 4 to AVP.

        • Jaythediv

          There are plenty of examples though of AAA games being ported to other platforms by third party Devs. E.g. CDPR outsourced the Witcher 3 Switch port to Saber Interactive.

          I agree it's unlikely, but in the niche of VR, who has better VR porting credentials than F2VR?

          • Oxi

            My understanding is that Saber Interactive is much much larger, more established, and their work was optimization and for a massive market.

  • Zack71

    LR's mods aren't the best, you can't use controllers to aim; in UEVR you can.
    I hope that now someone can make a really good VR mod for CP2077.

    • John Smith

      That's a design decision by Luke Ross. The advantage of using gamepad controls is that the in-game help and tutorials work. There is the free VorpX software for Cyberpunk available that provides motion controller support.

  • Peter vasseur

    If it got an official port it would be one of the best vr games ever.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    Luke Ross is a bit of a hypocrite by pointing fingers at CDRP saying it's about money, when his mod by being paywalled earns him $20K+ each month because of its paywall. He can release his mod for free and take donations, and CDRP won't say a thing, but the paywall is where they draw the line and have to act due to IP/trademark laws as they stand to loose it if they don't act.

    • John Smith

      Not necessarily, since his software is not a "mod" in the traditional meaning of the term but rather a software package that allows 30-40 games on a VR display instead of a monitor. I think they should have approached him to make his software an official DLC with some form of revenue sharing as they most probably have no plans to themselves develop VR support for Cyberpunk.

  • Herbert Werters

    You're complaining about a developer who makes it possible for us to play flat games with a 3D face monitor, instead of being angry at the studios and publishers who have been denying us a VR option in their games for over 10 years. Yes, thank you, dear VR users! No one is forcing you to buy the mods. But it's the only option to play these games in VR. The only one.

    If you don't want the mods and don't want the option, then shout a little louder!

  • NicoleJsd [She/Her]

    Luke Gross. Always was something off about the guy who wants patreon sub to download his mods…

    Some people just have huge ego