Fake-Bans in GTA Online Among Chinese Players
OPla G
19 Jan 21:30
4
0As reported, in December 2023 and January 2024, dozens, if not hundreds, of players from China received unusual bans in GTA Online that contradicted the company’s user policies and significantly differed from typical bans.
After contacting Rockstar Games, affected players were informed that the bans were issued due to spam, not cheating. However, they dispute the fairness of this reasoning. Typically, spamming activities are carried out by bots that don’t engage directly in gameplay. It makes little sense for accounts with hundreds of hours of gameplay to be involved in spam.
The group has labeled their situation as a fake-ban and claims that all affected players were in open sessions where actual spammers were present. They highlight the lack of attention to the issue, which they attribute partly to the fact that major platforms like YouTube and Reddit, commonly used to raise awareness, are banned in China.
- At first, no email was sent to notify the banned players.
- At second, the bans were permanent, skipping the usual 30-day suspension as a preliminary measure.
- At third, in most cases, the bans were not limited to accounts but extended to hardware identifiers (HWID).
- At fourth, game progress wasn’t reset, and banned players could still participate in activities like the March giveaway and even use their banned Online characters in Director Mode.
The group has labeled their situation as a fake-ban and claims that all affected players were in open sessions where actual spammers were present. They highlight the lack of attention to the issue, which they attribute partly to the fact that major platforms like YouTube and Reddit, commonly used to raise awareness, are banned in China.
