GTA Online Hands Out Permanent Bans In A Major Crackdown On Ill-Gotten In-Game Cash

Rockstar Games are dropping the ban hammer as they widen their crusade against Grand Theft Auto [...]

By Nathan Birch

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(Photo: Rockstar Games)

Rockstar Games are dropping the ban hammer as they widen their crusade against Grand Theft Auto Online cheaters. Over the past few weeks, Rockstar and parent company Take-Two Interactive have targeted the makers of various GTA Online cheat mods, but it seems they're now turning their attention to the unscrupulous individuals who have benefitted from these cheats.

Various GTA Online "mod menus" with names like Force Hax, subVersion, and Menyoo allow players to gift themselves money, kick fellow players from the game, and otherwise mess with the experience with little effort. Recently, some of these mod menus even added the ability to steal money from other players, which seems to have been the straw that broke the camel's back – cheating had been widespread in GTA Online for some time, but Rockstar only cracked down when it threatened to wreck the game's economy. Hardly surprising, as Rockstar makes bank selling GTA bucks for real-world cash.

Users on the Unknown Cheats forum and other places GTA Online cheaters gather are reporting Rockstar has begun confiscating ill-gotten in-game cash from their accounts, and are even doling out permanent bans to repeat offenders. Apparently, "stealth money" obtained en masse through mod menus is the main thing being targeted, with money being gained through other shady methods (like small-time cash drops) largely being ignored.

In a recent support post, Rockstar confirms they're targeting money-grubbing cheaters:

"We are aware of cheaters who are manipulating the in-game funds and RP levels for themselves and other players in GTA Online. In an effort to create a fair gameplay environment for all players, we routinely perform security sweeps for any illegitimately gained GTA$ and adjusted RP levels. Players who have had their accounts affected should see corrections being made."

GTA Online microtransactions made up nearly half of Take-Two's revenue last year, so expect the crackdown to continue. Popular modding tool OpenIV recently got caught in the blowback, even though its only meant to be used with the single-player component of Grand Theft Auto V. Thankfully, Rockstar clarified their position on single-player mods and convinced Take-Two to lift the ban on OpenIV.

You can check out all WWG's latest Grand Theft Auto V coverage here.

[via IBTimes UK]

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