A popular PC modder who created unofficial photo modes for various PC games has been hit with a cease and desist letter crisis Developer Crytek. Now, after the German studio threatened to take legal action, the modder has struck decided to remove the mods he created for Crytek games from his Patreon page.
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Franz Bouma, a Dutch software engineer who makes photo mode mods for a number of PC games, recently turned his talent to making mods for the remastered versions of crisis 2 and crysis 3 on PC. These mods allowed you to do what you would expect: position the camera, adjust various settings, and capture stunning images while hiding on-screen elements like the HUD. The result is essentially a photo mode like in games like The Last of Us Part II
Unfortunately, according to some of Bouma’s January 13 tweets, including one with a screenshot of the letter by a Crytek PR executive, the studio “does not allow mods of these games under the terms of [the] EULA.” Bouma asked the studio for clarification on how the mods violated the end user license agreements of both games, and was told the “main problem” was that the Photo Mode mods were being monetized.
“Technically, any mod by a Crysis Remastered Game is a violation of the EULA,” Crytek Bouma’s PR manager said in a letter shared on his Patreon.
“I got a response that basically boils down to, ‘Any mod is a violation of the EULA, remove it,'” Bouma tweeted.
When reached for comment, Bouma said igamesnews via email that he was shocked by the developer’s response. Bouma – who has built-in photo mode mods for games such as A Plague Story: Innocence, Devil May Cry 5, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139, and others – said that not only did he not make any money from these particular mods, but he also received positive feedback from other developers for the work he put in to create such impressive tools.
“I was shocked that I received such a letter, including legal threats about tools that add a photo mode and camera tools to a game, as I’ve only had positive reactions from game developers/studios so far,” Bouma said. “My tools add photo modes to games that don’t have them, so the games are accessible to a large group of virtual photographers and video makers who post footage and videos of the games on social media/Flickr, it’s basically a way of promoting for free the games.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to remove the tools for Crisis 2/3 remastered because the alternative: fight to the bitter end didn’t have a winning end result for me: if I won this fight, the end result would be that people would still be posting screenshots and videos made with my tools, theirs Play on social media, YouTube and Flickr. If they were removed, they would also lose that benefit to their games.”
We’ve reached out to Crytek for comment and will update when we get feedback.
A Crytek community manager went to Reddit to apologize to everyone, including Bouma, for how the “first message led to a misunderstanding.” The studio also said it appreciates the support it’s getting from the community, admitting it “should have approached the situation differently.”
Continue reading: Crytek employees say they’re not getting paid – again
While Crytek hasn’t made headlines lately, the developer has been fighting in court over alleged controversies not paying employees, abruptly closure of five of its studios, and Sue StarCitizen Developer Cloud Imperium Games for breach of contract and infringement of his copyright. The studio eventually released the Crysis trilogy A remastered bundle of all three first-person shooters will be released in October somehow look even better as previously.
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