Cheaters in Grand Theft Auto Online face a threat greater than cops: the banhammer

Grand Theft Auto Online encourages you to take part in almost any type of vice you can imagine — except cheating.

Developer Rockstar Games is “taking aim at GTA Online cheaters,” according to the company’s official newswire. Rockstar is determined to punish a small percentage of players who generated gargantuan sums of in-game cash by exploiting a glitch, breaking the game’s economy for fair players. It threatened today to subject these cheaters to in-game penalties, including bans.

Some players discovered the glitch shortly after GTA Online’s October launch. It permitted them to spawn unlimited funds by repeatedly selling the same motorcycle. Not long after, a similar glitch surfaced that increased the possible return to $1 million in two minutes. Suddenly, certain servers were flooded with cash, causing rampant inflation in the virtual economies. Rockstar fixed the glitch with its latest 1.09 patch for GTA Online, eliminating the exploit.

GTA Online is the multiplayer component of Grand Theft Auto V, which allows players to take part in most of the wide range of activities available in the single-player game. Up to 16 players can play in the same game world at a time. Money is a central gameplay mechanic, with players earning cash in a variety of ways and using it to purchase vehicles, clothing, and property.

The publisher has clarified that it will not punish those who have received bogus currency, although it did take away all counterfeit funds during today’s maintenance period. It’s only after the big fish, those who have actually exploited the game to gain money. The developer has asked for the community’s help in reporting the culprits and apologized to those who have had their experience sullied by the economy-breaking exploits.