Take-Two, the parent company behind Rockstar Games, has sued PlayerAuctions, a side that allegedly facilitates the sale of hacked and boosted GTA Online accounts and illegitimate in-game currency. The recent lawsuit was filed in California, with Take-Two claiming that the Chinese-owned PlayerAuctions platform was ‘reaping millions in revenue’ based on these sales.
The filing from the U.S. Central District Court of California insists that PlayerAuctions is being run with the ‘full knowledge that its sellers are engaged in rampant infringement and other unauthorised conduct.’
Not The First
It was revealed in February 2025 that the Roblox Corporation was also suing PlayerAuctions for a similar streak of allegations. As these cases ramp up, more developers and publishers may enter the fight, as PlayerAuctions supports the sale of digital goods and services from a staggering assortment of titles.
Everything from RuneScape and Fortnite to World of Warcraft and Call of Duty is featured on PlayerAuctions.
The Take-Two case, which was originally spotted by Polygon, offers an in-depth perspective on how PlayerAuctions operates and how it’s walking a fine legal line when it comes to digital goods in GTA Online.
The California court filing reads:
PlayerAuctions goes to great lengths to lull its users into buying illegitimate GTA V content from its sellers, including by offering ‘after-sale protection’ – i.e. refunds – if the hacked accounts they purchase are detected and banned by Take-Two’s anti-cheat systems.
PlayerAuctions offers this ‘protection’ because it knows the hacked player account listings on its marketplace are infringing and unauthorised under Take-Two’s terms of service.
It was stressed in the filing that Take-Two has sent several notices to PlayerAuctions along with evidence of these claims, but the platform’s operators have refused to relent. Per the statutory claims of the case, Take-Two would be entitled to $150,000 for each copyright infringed, but PlayerAuctions’ sales figures haven’t yet been made public.
It could be a monster case in terms of damages if Take-Two is successful.
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It’s long since been time for GTA clones to return. Someone make a new Sleeping Dogs, Microsoft make True Crime NYC 2, anyone else make something too let’s get a Simpsons Hit & Run remake finally.