The latest update to Grand Theft Auto 5 was designed to address the rampant problem of "dirty" money floating around GTA Online, the game's online multiplayer mode; however, it appears the patch has caused more issues with players seemingly playing the game clean. A number of users have reported that their cash has been taken from them, even if they purchased it with real cash through microtransactions via the in-game store.
Some users claim that they never asked for nor received modded money and yet their cash was still taken from them. At this point, it's unclear which of the dozens of claims are valid, but Rockstar's Twitter is littered with complaints from players.
As previously explained by Rockstar, the developer is "taking aim" at cheaters in GTA Online. Apparently, a "small number" of players have been exploiting the game by "generating and distributing game-breaking amounts of in-game cash." The latest update, released last week, was designed to remove this "modded" cash from the game and those who brought it in were to be placed in "isolated cheater pools."
Those who received GTA$ (in-game money) as a result of these exploits, but didn't actually engage in the cheat to acquire faced no action; the funds were simply removed and players could keep any items they already owned. To make up for the items you were allowed to keep, Rockstar decided to make balance adjustments to players' accounts; however, it was stated that any unspent money from shark card purchases (microtransactions) would not be affected.
Admittedly, I haven't touched GTA Online in a while, but from what I gather Rockstar was supposed to make adjustments to your account to make up for transactions, but that cash purchased through shark cards would remain untouched. That doesn't appear to be the case, based on the number of complaints. Aside from the initial FAQ page, Rockstar hasn't addressed the concerns publicly; instead, they are opting to have players report their problems on a case-by-case basis.
Have you experienced missing cash in GTA Online since the update? Sound off in the comments below.
