‘GTA V’ Single Player Mods Might Get You Banned from ‘GTA Online’
The release of Grand Theft Auto V on PC brought with it the promise of a strong and vibrant modding community. That community has been hard at work creating mods to improve the graphics, add new weapons, and enhance the gameplay, but there are a few mods that will get gamers banned from playing the online version of the game, GTA Online.
IGN has reported players are complaining they have been banned from playing GTA Online after installing certain mods in the single-player version of the game. While developer Rockstar has given no official explanation yet, the developer has always stated it would not support mods that affect the online experience.
Rockstar opened up its game to allow tech savvy gamers to build and create their own mods to enhance GTA V. Modding of games has existed for years and has historically been an accepted and encouraged art form. Gamers take what a developer has created and find a way to tweak it or improve it. Games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim have seen players creating their own in-game residences, improving the game’s graphics, introducing new areas to explore, and even changing the game’s music. These mods provide players with an opportunity to customize and optimize the way the game looks, sounds, and plays. GTA V is no exception.
Mods that change GTA V’s field-of-view, add new skins for characters, or enable users to use their actual cell phones to control the in-game phone might not seem to have much of an impact on online play, but Rockstar told IGN upon the game’s release in April that they would not tolerate anyone tampering with the integrity of GTA Online.
“Our fans do some amazing things with our games, but our priority is on making sure nothing detracts from the integrity of the GTA Online experience, and working to prevent anything that can potentially have a negative impact on the overall community.”
GTA V’s most recent patch appeared to disable many existing mods, forcing players to rollback to earlier versions or uninstall them completely. In light of a growing number of players reporting their GTA Online accounts have been banned, is it possible this was intentional on Rockstar’s part to weed out some of the mods it feels are unacceptable? Though the developer has yet to comment on the matter publicly, it would not be the first time in the last week that a huge developer changed its policies on a matter that affected the community.
On April 23, Valve rolled out a plan to begin allowing aspiring developers to charge for their mods via the Steam Workshop. By Monday, Valve canceled those plans and refunded everyone any money they may have spent on mods. While Rockstar has not commented on the banning of players from GTA Online, the uproar is strikingly similar to what Valve experienced last week.
[Image via Rockstar Games]
