The creator of the modification for GTA 5, enabling interaction with AI characters, has announced that their mod has been removed from publication by Take-Two

Sentient Streets is a new narrative expansion for the game created by Bloc, an experienced modder who has previously developed similar modifications for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.

According to Bloc's description, NPCs in Sentient Streets "are driven by over 30 AI models, allowing players to engage in open-ended real-time conversations with eccentric cult members, cunning police officers, and unsuspecting civilians."

The mod was accompanied by a YouTube video showcasing its functionality. In the video, the player is seen controlling a police officer standing on a street with other officers. Approaching each officer and pressing the T key to get their attention, players could then hold the N key and speak into their microphone to ask a question.

The accompanying YouTube video demonstrated the mod's features. The video depicts the player controlling a police officer on the street alongside other officers. By interacting with each police officer and pressing the T key to capture their attention, players could subsequently hold the N key and communicate through their microphone to pose a question.

However, in a recent message posted on their YouTube channel, Bloc reveals that Take-Two removed the mod from the Nexus Mods website and deleted the video from YouTube. Subsequently, Bloc decided to remove the mod from the GTA5Mods website to prevent further issues.

In the latest update posted on their YouTube channel, Bloc announces that Take-Two removed the mod from the Nexus Mods platform and took down the video from YouTube. Consequently, Bloc chose to take down the mod from the GTA5Mods website to avoid further negative repercussions.

"The reason given for removing the video, as stated by Take-Two Interactive on YouTube, was my use of their software (GTA V) in the video. No one from Take-Two Interactive contacted me or asked anything before this, they just suddenly removed the video. Two days ago, my Netlify account was also temporarily suspended. I used Netlify to host the installation guide for the modification.

I reached out to the claimant email address provided on YouTube (which belonged to Take-Two), hoping that there might be a minor misunderstanding or they could clarify the reason. It might have been an automated action, but the evidence points to a deliberate manual DMCA takedown request from them. However, I didn't receive any response. It seems they are opposing the mod from various angles."

Bloc expressed bewilderment as to why the use of GTA 5 became the basis for removing the video, considering "there are hundreds of millions of YouTube videos currently showcasing or simply creating Let's Play videos for decades without any issues."

Bloc notes: "Unfortunately, this appears to be an excuse to attack and take a contradictory stance against the mod. This somewhat puzzles me, given that the mod itself is free and has an open-source code. The mod is available for download on two different platforms, where registration is not even required to access it.

"The mod can be freely explored without any investment, as confirmed by the thousands of players who have downloaded and enjoyed it. The mod does not utilize voices from Grand Theft Auto, and it does not distribute any rule-breaking elements."

In a critique of Rockstar, Bloc concludes: "I hope that everyone who enjoyed this modification will remember this unfair action taken by Take-Two when they hear any news about Rockstar. Instead of targeting small mods, perhaps they should focus on creating high-quality remakes with a more ethical pricing policy or stop removing cars from GTA Online only to later sell those same cars to players."