Fact Check: Is Rockstar going to ban GTA RP?

A recent tweet by Rockstar Games has left many GTA fans perplexed. On behalf of its parent company Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar issued a statement regarding Roleplay (RP) servers on November 18, leading many players to believe that Rockstar would ban RP gameplay.

While Take-Two Interactive has stated that it will take action on RP servers, the American video game holding company will only target those that violate its Intellectual Property (IP) policies. This article explains what Take-Two said in its statement and which RP servers will be affected by it.

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Rockstar Games will ban GTA RP servers that do not adhere to the company's policies

On November 18, 2022, Rockstar Games shared a tweet from its customer service account Rockstar Support stating that the company has updated its policies on GTA 5's single-player mods, including RP servers. The post included a link to a support page explaining the policy changes.

The statement contains five tactical points on which the gaming company intends to take immediate action. They are as follows:

1. Misuse of Rockstar Games trademarks or in-game intellectual property,
2. Importation or exploitation of other intellectual property in the project, including other Rockstar IP, real-world brands, characters, trademarks, or music,
3. Commercial exploitation, such as selling "loot boxes" for real-world currency or its in-game equivalent like GTA$, selling virtual currencies, generating revenue through corporate sponsorships or in-game integrations, or using cryptocurrencies or crypto assets such as Non-fungible Tokens (NFT),
4. Developing new games, stories, missions, and maps, and
5. Interfering with Rockstar's official multiplayer or online services, such as Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online.

Considering the preceding statements, Take-Two Interactive indicates that it will only take action against servers involved in unapproved or unregulated transactions and deals.

Many GTA RP players have recently reported that certain servers are involved in trading NFTs, Cryptocurrencies, and other transactions that Rockstar Games did not approve. As a means of protecting its IP policies, Rockstar took a dominant stance against violators.

GTA RP servers are unofficial but Rockstar-approved gameplay modes that can only be accessed through modded servers. Although the gaming company accepts no responsibility for what occurs within the modded gameplay, it has complete ownership of the in-game elements and has asserted its authority through the statement.

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Players’ reactions to the news

The news shook the GTA community, and many players reacted and shared their opinions in the statement. While user Villains | YakuzaSinister urged the developers to ban all RP servers, NovemberFoxtrot explained why they are an important game mode for the decade-old game.

Another user, Adolfna Hitlerová, asked why Rockstar Games does not take action against modders in Grand Theft Auto Online.

User tehmuggz inquired about Rockstar's stance on RP servers charging real money for entry into their servers.

User Andrew Thomas explained how Rockstar's statement would affect the game in general.

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What caused Rockstar Games to reform its policies?

On November 18, 2022, popular game data miner Tez2 tweeted an explanation for Rockstar's policy update. They claimed that rapper Lil Durk collaborated with Exceed Talent Capital Ltd. to launch an "IPO" for his music.

The company then intended to launch an NFT on a GTA RP server with a Loot Box. Since the entire transaction is taking place on Rockstar's intellectual property, the developers took action prior to these instances.