Take-Two sues GTA 5 account boosters for pressuring “innocent” players into buying unauthorized goods

“While GTA lets players experience a fictional underworld of lawless enterprise, the entities behind PlayerAuctions own and operate a real one”. So claims a lawyer for GTA 6 and Borderlands publisher Take-Two Interactive in a complaint filed on Tuesday against third-party asset marketplace PlayerAuctions. They accuse PlayerAuctions – who have already faced similar accusations from Roblox – of selling modified player accounts obtained by hacking, via Polygon.

(I have no choice but to respect the hustle of trying to make GTA’s “fictional underworld of lawless enterprise” sound as cool as possible during a lawsuit. “While GTA lets players do cool and fun fake crimes…”)

“The website PlayerAuctions.com offers a vast online marketplace containing thousands of listings for unauthorized, infringing GTA V content – including heavily modified player accounts, in-game assets, and virtual currency – all gained by using hacking software, cheats, and technical exploits,” continues the complaint.

As Polygon note, selling a GTA Online account to another player is not strictly illegal, though it’s against terms of service. It’s this alleged infringement, alongside copyright and trademark infringement claims, that comprise the complaint.

By offering account boosting, modded accounts, and currency drops, Take Two claim that PlayAuctions offers “an otherwise impossible experience: new players can begin GTA V with billions in VC and with a massive arsenal of in-game content—such as vehicles, clothing, and weapons—configurations only possible by hacking and modifying the GTA V game in breach of the Rockstar TOS.”

“In some cases, these listings advertise ‘unlock all’ accounts preloaded with maxed-out character levels and virtually all in-game assets available to acquire in GTA Online,” they continue. “Moreover, users buying Account Boosting Services give control of their GTA V account temporarily to an unknown third party – in violation of the Rockstar TOS – and disclose their GTA V account information, including passwords”. PlayerAuctions take “at least 12.99% in fees,” write Polygon, and the lawsuit claims that this amounts to “many tens of millions or even upwards of 100 million dollars.”

“At the scale of its website,” say Take-Two, “PlayerAuctions risks upending the GTA V player experience and interferes with the balance and fairness of the game. PlayerAuctions’ business also actively promotes behavior that risks creating a ‘race for the bottom’ where innocent GTA V players feel pressured to buy unauthorized digital goods and service, or else resort to using hacks or cheating themselves, to ‘keep up’ with PlayerAuctions’ customers.”

A cynic might offer a translation to the above along the lines of “won’t somebody please think of the innocent Shark Cards”. Not me though. I look at GTA V’s reported £6.9 billion revenue since release and think, now that’s just some good honest videogame sales.

Roblox sued PlayerAuctions for similar claims last month, report Polygon. Take-Two’s latest gift to innocent GTA V players is the reportedly somewhat borked GTA V Enhanced Edition.