Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are formally not allowed Grand Theft Auto online‘s popular role-playing (RP) servers. That’s according to a new set of guidelines posted on Rockstar’s support site last Friday.
In the note, the game’s publisher says the new RP server rules are aligned with Rockstar’s existing rules for single-player mods. Both sets of rules prohibit content that exploits third-party intellectual property, disrupts official multiplayer services, or creates new “games, stories, missions, or maps” for the game. This means RP servers on a rebuild basis Super Mario Kart in the Grand Theft Auto for example, the world could be affected by Rockstar’s “priority enforcement actions”.
But the new RP guidelines surpass the existing single-player mod guidelines by blocking “commercial exploitation”. That’s a broad term that, according to Rockstar, specifically includes the sale of loot boxes, virtual currencies, corporate sponsorships, or any integration of cryptocurrencies from “crypto assets (e.g., ‘NFTs’).”
It’s all been done before
The new guidelines seem to respond directly to “The Trenches,” a role-playing community launched in September by OTF Gaming and rapper Lil Durk. That server advertised integration with both “endemic and non-endemic brands in the gaming space” and a “Trenches Pass” NFT drop to access specific content on the server.
“We have been asked to cease all activities of Trenches,” OTF Gaming said in a statement on social media. “We have no choice but to comply with their demands as we want to do Take-Two and Rockstar right. We will work with them to find an amicable solution to this matter.”
Rockstar Reportedly Forced Lil Durk To Shut Down Its GTA Role Play Server “Trenches”‼️😳 pic.twitter.com/eMlJCGVjUi
— RapTV (@Rap) November 20, 2022
If this situation sounds familiar to you, developer Mojang may have similarly blocked NFT integration from its online servers back in July. At the time, Minecraft-based crypto project NFT Worlds said it hoped to work with Mojang to “find an alternative outcome that is beneficial to the Minecraft player base.”
Days later, however, NFT Worlds said it gave up on that and began work on a new game that will be “based on many of Minecraft’s core mechanics” but that will be “entirely separate from the policy enforcement that Microsoft and Mojang have about Minecraft.”
In MinecraftIn the case, Mojang said the “scarcity and exclusion” inherent in NFTs “does not Minecraft values of creative inclusion and playing together.” That reasoning is less valid GTA Onlinehowever, a game that rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars annually by selling in-game currency and exclusive items for players’ use.
Things like NFTs and loot boxes can at least be seen as competition for GTA Online‘s official monetization efforts. With that competition cut off, however, Rockstar sounds eager to keep RP servers running within reason.
Rockstar Games has always believed in reasonable fan creativity and wants creators to show their passion for our games. Third-party roleplay servers extend the rich array of community-created experiences within Grand Theft Auto which we hope will continue to thrive in a safe and friendly manner for many years to come.”
