Rise of Mordor Mod Removed From Mod DB at Request of Warner Bros
Warner Bros. has recalled it owns the rights to the Lord of the Rings movie universe. As a result, a mod developed for years, called Rise of Mordor for Total War: Atilla, disappeared from Mod DB.
Warner Bros. has forced the removal of the Total War: Attila mod inspired by the movie Lord of the Rings from Mod DB. The mod in question is Rise of Mordor, developed since 2018, which is a total conversion, i.e. a modification that introduces major changes to the gameplay.
In statement of the creators we read that Warner Bros. invoked the American DMCA act (concerning copying and distribution of unauthorized materials). WB owns the rights to create video games based on the movie adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's works, which the modders used to create the visual layer of Rise of Mordor.
- Modders are not sure about the reasons for removing the modification. After all, this is a non-commercial project to an already existing game.
- We may be facing a similar situation to the disappearance of mods for the 3D GTA trilogy due to - as it turned out - the planned release of official remasters from Take-Two.
- For now, they are trying to contact Warner Bros' IP department in order to continue developing their project.
- Perhaps the issue was about the mod's name. This is why modders are preparing to rebrand Rise of Mordor and have already conducted a poll on the matter.
To makes things more interesting, Rise of Mordor can still be downloaded from Nexus Mods and our FTP, at least for now. The ambition of the creators is to create a complete campaign in Middle-earth with the participation of nineteen factions.
Interestingly, the case coincided with the sale of IP rights to create, among others, games and movies based on the license of J.R.R. Tolkien's works. It's hard to find a connection here, especially since Warner Bros. took action long before the reports about The Saul Zaentz Company's offer appeared.
