Luke Ross is one of the most respected VR modders in the community. He's created over 40 VR conversions for games that never got official VR support - Cyberpunk 2077, GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Ghostrunner, and dozens more.
Now his Patreon's been suspended. Again.
This time it's 505 Games going after him for his Ghostrunner VR mod. After CD Projekt Red already forced him to make his Cyberpunk 2077 mod free last year, this is the second major DMCA hit Ross has taken.
Ross had to "temporarily pause the Patreon page," meaning his supporters lost access to 40+ mods and detailed information about his VR conversions. All because of DMCA.
Here's the thing: Luke Ross isn't some pirate selling cracked games. He's a modder creating full VR conversions - complex technical work that requires understanding game engines, rendering pipelines, and VR implementation. Work that game companies won't do themselves because it's not profitable enough.
Ross charges a small Patreon fee because this work takes time. Real, significant development time. But DMCA gives publishers "infinite power to big companies" (Ross's words) while modders face "huge costs to get through the legal process."
And you know what's wild? These VR mods make games better. They extend the life of games that have already made their money. They bring in new audiences who want to experience classics in VR. They're good for the games.
But because Ross charges for his work - work that requires specialized skills and hundreds of hours - publishers see it as unauthorized commercial use and DMCA it into oblivion.
The modding community is pissed. And they should be. This isn't about protecting IP. It's about control.
My take? Modders deserve to get paid for their work. Not every mod needs to be free just because it's a "passion project." Ross is providing a service that game companies refuse to provide. He's filling a gap in the market.
If 505 Games doesn't want to make an official VR version of Ghostrunner (they won't), why kill the unofficial one that's making their game better?
This is the same industry that celebrates when modders fix their broken games for free (looking at you, Skyrim), but the moment a modder asks for reasonable compensation, suddenly it's a legal issue.
Verdict: The modding community is under attack, and we're all worse off for it. Support modders. They make gaming better.
Would I speedrun in VR? Hell yeah. Thanks to modders like Luke Ross.
