Rockstar Games has banned some Grand Theft Auto V gamers using mods for both the single-player and multiplayer elements of the game. The modders created a modded version of the game’s multiplayer called FiveM, which was separate from Rockstar’s online service, but were banned anyway.
Rockstar stated that players “should not worry about being banned or being relegated to the cheater pool just for using single player PC mods. Our primary focus is on protecting GTA Online against modifications that could give players an unfair advantage, disrupt gameplay, or cause griefing [sic].”
Rockstar bans those who tamper with the official Grand Theft Auto Online game. But FiveM does not coincide with Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto Online; it operates on private servers.
Ash Rogers, a FiveM user, stated, “here’s the ironic part, FiveM uses a Social Club hook in, it did this to make sure PEOPLE OWNED THE GAME, as a piracy protection method so people couldn’t just crack the game and still get to play MP. FiveM is the only thing out there on the GTA modding scene to do so. Because of this piracy protection check, Rockstar have got angry and started to ban people. YES, people who CONFIRMED THEY PURCHASED THE GAME!”
FiveM modders were banned from every Rockstar game that uses a Rockstar Social Club log-in, including Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption. This incident has generated a conversation on Reddit concerning whether or not bans infringe upon gamers’ ownership of games which they have legally purchased.
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