For the GTA 5 VR and GTA VC ports, it’s understandable since it’s using copyrighted material.
The GTA 3/VC port wasn’t using copyrighted material though. You still need to own a copy of the game and bring over your own data files. It’s similar to how OpenMW allows you to play TES 3: Morrowind on your phone. Nothing was being distributed on their end.
The GTA 5 VR mod was filed under a copyright not licensing claim so it doesn’t seem like it was about the creators making money. Likewise you still need to own a copy of the game. There are conversion tools that target a multitude of games with the goal of converting them into a VR experience that don’t, to my knowledge, receive legal threats. It’s just that this project targeted Take Two Interactive games (it also worked for Red Dead 2).
This is a new game that was inspired by older games, the takedown sets a dangerous precedent. Imagine if every silent hill inspired game was sent a DMCA…
I agree. I feel like a significant amount of the games I’ve played recently are very upfront about being inspired by Resident Evil, Wasteland, or the STALKER series. I hope it doesn’t become an annoying hurdle for indie developers.