Yet another epidemic has infiltrated the online world. People in the business of crypto are using GTA 6‘s hype and assets possibly to entice people to part ways with their money. Not only that but some well-known personalities are openly saying they want to make something that breaks Rockstar Games‘ legal terms. Something Rockstar have enforced in the past with legal takedowns.
The catalyst for this article is that over the past few days and weeks I’ve noticed a huge uptick in Twitter accounts posting about cryptocurrencies using GTA 6 content. It has made interacting with our community more difficult and I’ll get to why later.
Some examples of these Twitter accounts include coins that are named after characters from the Grand Theft Auto games and many, many accounts using imagery from the series. This includes logos, vehicles, AI generated art that is clearly inspired by the games or straight up screenshots from Rockstar and their trailers.
A Popular Lie
This epidemic is not all new either. I had already gotten sick from reading the lie peddled by crypto enthusiasts for the past few years that Rockstar will be adding support for crypto payments. This lie is baseless and goes against Rockstar Games’ own public stance on blockchain technology which I’ll get into more later in this article.
For whatever reason, this made up nonsense about Rockstar taking cryptocurrency payments in GTA 6 keeps popping up on Twitter and is believed by many crypto enthusiasts. You can find dozens of accounts so brazenly parroting the same lies.
Not only do they choose to believe something that won’t obviously happen but they also share it with excitement. These Tweets can amass hundreds of thousands or even millions of views without correction unless Community Notes are applied.
Meanwhile some commentators in the space keep thinking GTA 6 will be a “pro crypto project”. Others have gone as far as to say it will be a flop if it does not use blockchain in any way. With so many of these people so confident with crypto coming to GTA 6, there is going to be a lot of disappointed faces when it does end up releasing.
Personal Experience
Such people (or bots) have also ramped up their attempts to contact RockstarINTEL’s social media platforms or use our Tweets to gain engagement. For example, many Tweets posted on our Twitter accounts will get crypto accounts reply with a (likely) AI written response and AI generated images of Lucia or something else GTA 6 related whilst mentioning their crypto project.
This is extremely annoying! These crypto accounts pay for Twitter Blue meaning their replies appear at the top of all replies. We like to read what our community has to say and these spam replies make checking out our feed more difficult. We value our community’s input and points of view and this spam has just caused frustration.
Memecoins Cashing In On GTA 6
One memecoin is called Lucia From GTA 6 and they use screenshots from the trailer in their Twitter accounts promoting the project. Another memecoin is literally called GTA Token and uses the sunset background of the GTA VI key artwork illustration. They are potentially taking advantage of people and whilst Rockstar Games’ work. There’s even a Rockstar one using their iconic logo or a VI token complete with the GTA VI logo.
What I have also noticed is, to my surprise, Twitter taking action. Some of the accounts that have Tweeted the RockstarINTEL social channels have been suspended for violating Twitter’s Terms of Service. Perhaps this is due to spamming. If you see what looks like nefarious behaviour, it is worth sending a report.
Rockstar Are Way Ahead
A lot of these people say Rockstar adding “digital currency” for the first time with GTA 6 will shake up the industry. What’s really funny is that Rockstar have been doing digital currency in the form of Shark Cards/GTA$ since 2013 and made multiple billions of dollars from it.
In 2022 alone GTA Online made $500 million for Rockstar Games. No blockchain tech required. They own and control everything and it has been extremely successful for over a decade, unlike web3 games. The only way crypto will be part of GTA 6 is it being made fun of by the writers. There is so much material to make fun of.
Streamer Openly Talks Plans That Break Legal Terms
Another crypto operation I see spool up every so often is integration with FiveM servers, in particular GTA RP ones. A recent example popped up earlier this month. FaZe Banks (FaZe Clan CEO) and streamer Adin Ross told viewers on a livestream that when GTA 6 launches they “will make the biggest server together” and they will be putting a lot of money into it.
Ross claims it will be “completely crypto”. He “promises” viewers it will “change the game” because Rockstar own FiveM and the game will be “all RP”. On top of that, he claims players “can earn money playing it.”
However, there are a few small issues with their endeavour. For starters, this simply breaks Rockstar Games and Take-Two’s Terms of Service. Under commercial exploitation, they state “generating revenue via corporate sponsorships or in-game integrations, or the use of cryptocurrencies or crypto assets (e.g. “NFTs”)” is not allowed.
This means any FiveM server taking payments in the form of crypto or selling NFTs will be shut down by Take-Two once they know about it. Crypto GTA RP servers are a non-starter. Rockstar and Take-Two will control their assets how they want.
Rockstar Shut Down Servers Like This Already
We reported on them adding this to their legal terms back in 2022. It was implemented due to a sharp rise in GTA RP servers using crypto, NFTs and lootboxes to make money. One high-profile case of enforcement featured rapper Lil Durk. His server sold a “GTA Online Loot Box”. We reported how the server issued a statement on social media telling fans they Take-Two’s legal counsel issued a notice for them to cease operations immediately.
Not to mention GTA VI is confirmed to not be launching on PC day one. It could be a year or two afterwards based on Rockstar’s past patterns. This means there will be no mods allowing custom servers with fan-made content for some time.
Rockstar own the entire FiveM operation. We’re yet to see how Rockstar does or does not integrate custom servers, RP and such into GTA 6 but if they don’t want NFTs or crypto involved, they’ll be make to stop. There’s always a possibility Rockstar bring FiveM-like servers to consoles but it will be so fans can enjoy GTA RP on their console and spend money that goes directly to Rockstar or creators of the servers using real money, not crypto. We already heard from Take-Two that they will monitise it.
Personally, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Rockstar’s killer satire in GTA 6 and how things like crypto will be mocked. We’ve gone so long since GTA V’s story. GTA Online’s story elements are fun and we’ve seen more recent real-world things parodied in there but nothing beats a brand new entry that goes to a whole new level.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
