GitHub Restores Repo of GTA Mod ‘Multi Theft Auto’ After Take-Two Fails to Sue

Multi Theft Auto (MTA), one of the longest-running and best known modding projects in gaming history, has officially returned to GitHub. The official repository disappeared last month following a takedown notice allegedly sent by Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, which alleged that the GTA project shared "leaked source code."

First released in February 2003, Multi Theft Auto (MTA) is an unofficial multiplayer mod for several popular Grand Theft Auto games, starting with GTA III.

MTA does not rely on copyright-infringing code, the developers stress, as it works by code injection that hooks into an officially purchased copy of GTA.

The GitHub Takedown

With this setup, MTA managed to avoid any serious backlash from the GTA creator Take-Two Interactive. That is, until the game company purportedly sent a DMCA takedown notice to developer platform GitHub, where MTA’s main repository, ‘mtasa-blue‘ is hosted.

The DMCA notice alleged that the MTA repository included leaked source code and requested it to be removed in full.

“We are writing to submit a takedown request regarding a leaked source code hosted on GitHub that infringes on our copyrights. The infringer is sharing the leaked source code, on the [mtasa-blue] repository,” the notice read.

Takedown
 

GitHub received the DMCA takedown request in early December, and, soon after, the MTA repository was indeed made inaccessible on the platform.

Repo removed
 

The notice took MTA’s developers by surprise. In their Discord channel, they suggested that it might be fake, especially since the entire repository was targeted, without pointing out any concrete leaked or infringing code. Additionally, the sender also ‘forgot’ to target the repo’s forks, which is unusual.

GTA Files Counternotice

The MTA developers didn’t sit idly by. On December 22, they filed their formal counter-notice requesting GitHub to reinstate their repository, denying any copyright infringement claims. Instead, they explain that their mod hooks into the official GTA game.

“The repository referenced contains only original, independently developed source code and supporting materials created by contributors to the project. It does not include, reproduce, or distribute any copyrighted assets, source code, or proprietary files from the original game or its publisher.”

“The software operates by interacting at runtime with a lawfully installed, user-supplied copy of the original game. No copyrighted game content is extracted, copied, redistributed, or included within this repository,” the counternotice adds.

Counternotice
 

Filing a formal counternotice is a serious step. Under the DMCA, this requires GitHub to restore the repository within a window of 10 to 14 business days, unless the takedown sender files a formal court action. In other words, it was an invitation for Take-Two to take legal action if they indeed wanted the repository offline.

MTA Repository Restored

Apparently, Take-Two did not feel the need to follow-up on and earlier this week, the repository was fully restored.

Back
 

The comeback doesn’t mean that GitHub made a legal determination. Without a court order from Take-Two to keep the content offline, GitHub had to respond as its hands were legally tied by the DMCA.

When we reached out to GitHub, they declined to comment on the specific decision, including the authenticity of the original takedown. Instead, GitHub stated that they “reviewed and processed the notices in accordance with our DMCA Takedown Policy.”

In the hopes of getting additional information and commentary, TorrentFreak also reached out to Take-Two Interactive and a MTA developer. Unfortunately, however, neither responded before our deadline.

MTA

What’s Next?

While the restoration can be seen as a ‘win’ for MTA, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the result is final. If Take-Two was indeed behind the DMCA notice, it could still choose to take legal action later. This is also what happened to the ‘re3’ and ‘reVC’ repositories previously.

These reverse-engineered GTA mods were restored following a counternotice. However, they eventually were taken down again a few months later, when Take-Two sued the developers in U.S. court.

Source

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Posted Thursday 8 January 2026 at 4:55 am AEST (my time).

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