In the past, Rockstar Games has been generous with money handouts to players of Grand Theft Auto Online, doling out 1 million in-game dollars for free back in February and, more recently, gifting 500,000 dollars to GTA Online players in April.
However, the company frowns on players taking advantage of glitches and gaming the system to fatten their wallets without permission. Rather than receive a big wad of cash, GTA Online players who chose to abuse the apartment garage money glitch have been awarded with a rather unpleasant punishment: their accounts have been reset back to day one.
Everything from money, vehicles, and even level progress have been completely wiped from the accounts of players who exploited the glitch, no matter the amount of money they obtained. While the accounts weren’t banned, which Rockstar has done in the past to gamers who profited from glitches, many players have seen their seven-year-old accounts reset back to level one. This has caused many upset gamers to swear off playing GTA Online entirely, promising they won’t return until Grand Theft Auto 6.
Even some videos posted on YouTube that explained how to use the GTA Online apartment garage money glitch received a copyright strike from Take-Two Interactive and were removed, serving as a possible warning about the impending repercussions Rockstar was about to dish out to glitch abusers.
So what exactly is this garage glitch that is causing such an uproar? While the steps to reproduce it aren’t complicated, pulling off the exploit in GTA Online does require players to already own the most expensive CEO Office and have slots 6 and 7 free for purchasing a garage or an apartment. Through some manipulation of the Creator menu and buying particular properties, players can easily net 2 million in-game dollars in just a few minutes.
Many players justify exploiting money-making glitches in the game due to the monotony of grinding jobs, pulling heists, and trying their luck at the Casino. The game centers around making money, which can then be exchanged for real cash in order to purchase GTA Online vehicles, cosmetic items, and other status-enhancing items.
However, because the success of GTA Online is heavily based on earning and spending cash, it’s important to maintain a balanced economy or the entire ecosystem could be thrown off kilter, resulting in players having an even harder time in the game. It’s as yet unclear whether the apartment garage glitch has had a long-term negative impact on the game’s economy.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, and will be released on PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021.
Source: Dexerto