Rockstar Games wants to keep its online economy in Grand Theft Auto 5 as clean as it can be. So, when a sect of players manages to game the system and get free cash without actually working for it, the developer has to take action.
"In recent weeks, a small number of Grand Theft Auto Online players sought to exploit the game by generating and distributing game-breaking amounts of in-game cash, disrupting the experience for other players," notes a Rockstar NewsWire post.
An update was issued with the intent to remove the discovered cheating methods, and GTA Online still remains offline. Plenty of non-exploitative work is being done, but one of the major fixes will be the removal of the dirty money.
"We will continue to issue title updates on an ongoing basis to counter the negative impact this has had on gameplay, and as part of today's maintenance period, we are removing the counterfeit GTA$ from the game's economy," the post reads. "Anyone that innocently received GTA$ as a result of these exploits but did not engage in cheating to acquire it will not face any further action – the funds will just be removed , and you'll be able to keep any items you currently own.
"Those who actively engaged in cheating and exploiting the game in this manner will, however, be subject to in-game penalties at our discretion. This may include being placed in isolated cheater pools or banned from GTA Online altogether.”
Tough words, but when the in-game money can be purchased with real cash, players in this case are pretty much stealing out of Rockstar’s pockets.
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