Why GTA Online Players' Accounts Are Getting Wiped

The Grand Theft Auto series has always been about doing terrible things to get ahead. Over the years, people have found some pretty creative ways of cheating in Grand Theft Auto Online and have received varying degrees of punishment for their actions. However, Rockstar's response to a recent exploit within the game may be one of its harshest reactions to cheating yet.

According to a report from Game Rant, GTA Online players discovered a glitch in the game that could earn them millions of dollars within just a few minutes. The trick involved purchasing high-end properties in certain property slots on the player's account. After swapping between lobbies, players could then trade these properties in for a huge amount of cash almost immediately. In other words, it turned Grand Theft Auto Online CEOs into high-scale house flippers.

Gamers who exploited this glitch reported making more money than they ever thought possible. However, this profit has come with a cost. According to Game Rant, while GTA fans on Reddit and YouTube shared their successes with the glitch and showed other players exactly how it worked, those posts were quickly either taken down or deleted. It seems that Rockstar is cracking down hard on the people who have done it.

Based on a since deleted Reddit post (via Dexerto), Rockstar has begun wiping the bank accounts of players who have used the money glitch. Even more foreboding, these wipes have supposedly occurred without any kind of warning or message from Rockstar. In addition, some YouTubers have reported that their videos describing the new exploit have been hit with copyright strikes from Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive. One of these YouTubers was JK Gam3rs, who warned fellow gamers to maybe stay away from the glitch while Rockstar seemingly is on the warpath.

According to another thread on Reddit, Rockstar has since patched the glitch, but the patch apparently occurred after the bank account wipes and copystrikes. It seems those other tactics may have been used to scare gamers away from the exploit while Rockstar worked on fixing the bug. However, some fans refuse to believe Rockstar is wiping players' accounts without any kind of warning.

The fact that this glitch was fixed pretty quickly may have been frustrating for fans of Rockstar's other major online multiplayer title, Red Dead Online. That game has been riddled with bugs and hackers for quite a while now, and it's gotten to the point where some streamers have left the game so their accounts aren't affected any further. The quick response to this GTA exploit would seem to further illustrate that GTA Online might always be Rockstar's priority over Red Dead Online.

It has yet to be confirmed whether or not Rockstar is wiping every account that participated in using the glitch. However, as one Redditor pointed out, it's highly unlikely. At this point, Rockstar would have to wipe or ban a ton of accounts because of how well-known the glitch became in just a matter of days. It's more likely Rockstar is specifically targeting accounts that have used the exploit an egregious number of times, as well as the accounts of folks who have instructed other players on how to pull it off.

Whatever the case, at least one player was extremely disappointed to learn that Rockstar was striking back against the exploit. As they explained, the glitch has been a good way for some players to try out features in the game that they otherwise couldn't have afforded, which has given them more of an appreciation for certain aspects of GTA Online. This Redditor concluded, "I have literally tried more vehicles and features out in the last 24 hours than I have in the past 3 years. I have grinded GTA enough over the years but it's just not worth it to play legit anymore with the jacked up prices and low payouts."

Then again, it's worth pointing out that the rags to riches gameplay is something that appeals to many GTA Online players. It's fun to build your empire in-game, starting from low level street crime and graduating to full on organized crime boss. 

Luckily, there is still some good news for players who want to earn a huge chunk of change without having to cheat the system. With the recent announcement of a next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar Games has also told players they can expect more goodies in the near future. To that end, Rockstar is gifting every PlayStation Plus member on PlayStation 4  a $1 million in-game cash bonus every month they play GTA Online until the expanded edition of GTA 5 releases.