GTA: Vice City Browser Reopens After DMCA Block

A fan-made browser version of GTA: Vice City has resurfaced online. The DOS.Zone team relaunched the reVCDos project shortly after receiving a takedown notice from Take-Two and Rockstar. This time, the developers have radically altered the port's operating principles to eliminate direct copyright infringement.

The updated version no longer distributes game files through DOS.Zone's servers. To launch Vice City in a browser, users must manually download the original game data using a special feature on the website. Only then can the project run in a browser window on both computers and mobile devices. The platform now effectively serves as a technical shell and an adapted engine, rather than a source of Rockstar content.

The developers emphasize that reVCDos is conceived as an open community initiative. The project's source code is publicly available, and enthusiasts are free to create their own browser-based versions of Vice City, run it locally, and translate it into any language. The developers also require several conditions, including maintaining the brand logo in the menu, enabling cloud saves, and mandatory attribution to the DOS.Zone team as the port's creators.

The first browser-based version of Vice City quickly went viral and attracted the attention of both players and major gaming media, which ultimately led to copyright holders intervening. After being blocked, the team decided to stick with the idea and found a more discreet, yet legal, format for the project. As a result, fans are once again able to return to Vice City directly through their browser, compliant with copyright holders' requirements and preserving the spirit of the unusual technical experiment.