Rockstar responds to Grand Theft Auto mod ban complaint

It came to light yesterday that the three principle figures behind the FiveM mod for Grand Theft Auto 5—NTAuthority, TheDeadlyDutchi, and Qaisjp—had been banned from the Rockstar Social Club. The reason for the bans wasn't entirely clear at the time, but they believed it was due to their involvement with the mod, which they claimed was unfair because it only affects GTAV and not GTA Online, which Rockstar forbids.

In response to our inquiries, Rockstar confirmed that the bans did come about as a result of the FiveM mod, and that it does in fact violate their policies. "The FiveM project is an unauthorized alternate multiplayer service that contains code designed to facilitate piracy," Rockstar said in a statement. "Our policy on such violations of our terms of service are clear, and the individuals involved in its creation have had their Social Club accounts suspended."

It's not known whether the suspensions will be permanent, but Qaisjp said yesterday that he hoped to get in touch with the studio today in order to clarify the situation. In the meantime, while he also insisted that the use of FiveM will not lead to bans as it is strictly a single-player mod, his suspension would seem to rather obviously contradict that position. Consider yourself cautioned.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.