We promised we'd let you know when GTA Online was back up online so here we are — it's back! And this time Rockstar has a message too: it's going to be taking aim at GTA Online cheaters.
As a result of today's maintenance, all counterfeit (as Rockstar call it) or exploited/glitched (as we call it) GTA$ has apparently been removed from the game (whether this is in fact the case we have some more info on below...). This must have been quite a technical feat for Rockstar to achieve, so kudos on that. Rockstar also confirmed that if you purchased an item (like an apartment or vehicle) with some glitched GTA$ then you will get to keep that item — they are only removing the bad GTA$ from the game...
However, if you were one of the people who was actively glitching, exploiting or cheating (as opposed to simply being the innocent recipient of some GTA$) then Rockstar has said it will punish you at its discretion. This could mean putting you in a specific GTA Online cheater's pool, or outright banning you from the GTA Online game.
In terms of how effect this GTA$ sweep as been so far, we've already received reports that some people have been putting GTA$99 million bounties on one another, so there is clearly some countereit GTA$ still lying around, or new glitches/exploits/cheats have already been found.
If you've been affected by the recent patches or the maintenance in any way then please let us know in the comments section below — we'd love to hear from you.
