Guilty players may be placed in isolated cheater pools or banned altogether

Rockstar has announced plans to crack down on Grand Theft Auto Online cheaters.

The studio is to penalise players who, in recent weeks, have exploited the free-roaming multiplayer component of Grand Theft Auto 5 by generating and distributing "game-breaking amounts of in-game cash". Guilty players may be placed in isolated cheater pools or banned from playing the game altogether.

On Monday, Rockstar released a GTA Online patch designed to boost anti-cheating measures and squash GTA$ and Reputation Points exploits.

GTA Online was then taken offline for maintenance starting January 15/16 at 9pm EST/2am GMT. Rockstar said on Thursday that the maintenance period, which is not expected to exceed 24 hours, will be used to remove counterfeit GTA$ from the game's economy.

"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," the studio said.

"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.

"Should you ever encounter someone in GTA Online that appears to be taking advantage of exploits in your session, we ask that you alert us directly via the in-game reporting functionality. In the Pause menu, under the Online tab, select Players and scroll to the offending player. From there, select Report and choose Exploits from the violation options.

"We're grateful for the community's continued support in dealing with these issues and once again apologize to anyone that has had their Grand Theft Auto Online experience sullied by these exploits that broke the game's natural flow. Please stay tuned for lots more news about GTA Online in the weeks ahead."

Posted: Jan 16, 2014 10:21 am
Related Forum: Grand Theft Auto Forum

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/445555/rockstar-cracking-down-on-gta-online-cheaters/