Rockstar Sets Rules for RP Servers in GTA 5; Ban on NFTs and Lootboxes
Rockstar Games has banned role-play servers in Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 that use paid lootboxes, cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Fan-created RP/role-play servers (usually built on the FiveM mod) for Grand Theft Auto V are very popular on PC. Many of them heavily alter the rules of gameplay, enabling players to take on the role of both the common residents of Los Santos and participate in clashes between police and thieves or faction wars. However, some managers of such servers have recently begun to introduce highly questionable monetization solutions, which has forced Rockstar Games (and its owner, Take-Two) to articulate several prohibitions in this regard.
The developer bans those RP servers for GTA 5 (and RDR2), which, among other things:
- use of Grand Theft Auto V for commercial purposes, which includes, but is not limited to, paid lootboxes and the sale of virtual currency;
- use cryptocurrencies and NFTs;
- offer new missions, maps or stories;
- harm the official multiplayer modes in GTA Online i Red Dead Online;
- improperly use trademarks and intellectual property of Rockstar Games and other companies.
As you can see, the rules were written so broadly that, in practice, Rockstar Games can demand the closure of virtually any RP server. The studio's declaration, however, is mainly aimed at stopping lootboxes, NFTs and other forms of monetization in GTA 5 without the developers' permission.
Most fan-made servers offer new missions and stories, and many are maintained with player donations. Rockstar Games has so far ignored this, and it's unlikely the declaration of rules will change that. The studio simply wants to stop the most questionable projects of this type.
However, it should be remembered that when it comes to mods for the team's games, fans are always walking on thin ice. From time to time, Rockstar Games and Take-Two force an end to the development of unofficial projects. Last year, this fate befell, among others, mods called re3 and reVC and GTA Underground. We would not be surprised if the team's tolerance towards RP servers for GTA 5 ended with the release of GTA 6.
