Rockstar Games’ Parent Company Effectively Blocks ‘GTA V’ Cheat Programs

By Liz Lanier

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Take-Two Interactive effectively blocked the sale of cheat programs for use in “Grand Theft Auto V” via court ruling, according to Reuters .

Georgia resident David Zipperer stands accused of selling computer programs, Menyoo and Absolute, which allow users to cheat in the multiplayer mode “Grand Theft Auto Online,” by altering their own stats and, as a result, altering other players’ experiences in a negative way.

Take-Two was granted a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton which will prevent Zipperer from selling these programs.

A preliminary injunction is “a temporary injunction that may be granted before or during trial, with the goal of preserving the status quo before final judgment,” according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute .

Basically, this block is granted to prevent the modifications which Take-Two claims are damaging its reputation and could prevent sales of the game. A March 23 complaint from Take-Two claims to have suffered $500,000 in damages as a result of Zipperer’s programs, according to Reuters.

It is in Rockstar Games interest to remove modification programs, which allow cheating and can affect the GTA online experience, to keep the player base content. Rockstar’s attempts over the years to “combat cheating and griefing” have primarily been enforced through player bans, which it has been clear about.

“As a reminder, any attempt to tamper with the behavior of GTA Online by installing or executing mods, scripts, or other exploits, modifying the game files or manipulating the game in any way while it is executing will result in disciplinary action including but not limited to time in the cheater pool, bans and potential suspension of your account,” a 2015 post from Rockstar stated. “Please help maintain the integrity of the GTA Online experience by keeping sessions free of modifications and exploits.”

Cheating appears to be a rampant issue in GTA Online as recent as this year, with multiple Reddit threads from March, April, and May of 2018 calling the game “unplayable” and users on GTAForums.com and Rockstar Support forums making similar complaints.

Take-Two further stated it will continue to pursue legal action to protect its multiplayer community, according to Reuters.