Rockstar Cleans House, GTA V Online Cheaters Are Losing Money

“Grand Theft Auto V” online might be a crime simulation, but this doesn’t mean that players get to break the rules set down by Rockstar Games. Now, the developer is punishing cheaters who gained in-game credits through nefarious means by taking away some of those dollars.

Gamers have been using handy tools and software since “GTA V” was released in 2013 to unfairly get money, and Rockstar has been too busy to really deal with the problem, Engadget reports. After releasing their latest free content, however, it would seem the company finally found the time to dole out some punishment. As a result, any player who got caught cheating on their account is losing all of their money.

All of the details on the changes that Rockstar made for the online multiplayer aspect of the heist simulator are on their support page. On their FAQ, it’s listed that players identified as having modified accounts will be given notifications to that effect and will have their money reset accordingly.

A user on the game’s official forum by the name of Viper-Venom actually made a thread about the changes, detailing how some cheaters have lost trillions of dollars in-game. Other users have also contributed their own experiences, with many saying that even money gained via glitches are also affected.

It is noticeable that the majority of the players affected by the new policy changes had accounts with over 5 billion dollars in modded currency. This led to speculations regarding how Rockstar is targeting these players, with the wealthiest accounts being prime suspects.

Even as Rockstar argues that these changes are important in order to make the game fair and balanced, Ars Technica points out that the company is also making money by selling in-game credits for real-world dollars. So the developers certainly have an incentive to keep players from earning money through other means.