Well, that didn't take long. Mere hours after Google's Project Genie wiped nearly 10% off Take-Two Interactive's market value, the company is apparently responding the only way it knows how: by issuing DMCA takedown notices.
Multiple ideos showing AI-generated Grand Theft Auto-style worlds created with Project Genie are being taken down following what seems to be copyright claims from Take-Two. The videos in question used Google's AI tool to generate interactive 3D environments that resembled Grand Theft Auto V or Grand Theft Auto 6, complete with drivable city streets and open-world exploration.
The message from Take-Two is clear: AI might threaten our entire industry, but we still own GTA, and we're going to protect that IP even if it's being generated by algorithms we have no control over.
Take-Two has a long, well-documented history of aggressive copyright enforcement. The company has issued DMCA takedowns against GTA mods, browser ports, VR adaptations, and fan projects for years.
With AI, Take-Two's MO appears to be that if it looks like GTA, sounds like GTA, or uses anything resembling GTA assets, they will shut it down. The fact that Grand Theft Auto: Vice City won't enter the public domain until 2097 means Take-Two has nearly seven decades left to enforce this position.
But Project Genie represents a different challenge. These aren't mods. They're not ports. They're AI-generated approximations of what GTA might look like if created by an algorithm trained on publicly available data.
However, Take-Two isn't waiting for how governments around the world will decide on whether AI art is original or not. They're issuing takedowns now, which sends a clear message to both Google and Project Genie users.
