Take-Two Interactive, the company that owns Rockstar Games, has filed a lawsuit against online marketplace PlayerAuctions. The lawsuit claims PlayerAuctions is selling unauthorized GTA V content, including hacked accounts, in-game money, and other virtual items obtained through cheating and hacking.
The lawsuit was filed last week in the U.S. Central District Court of California against Paiao Network Technology, the Chinese company that owns PlayerAuctions. Take-Two alleges that the marketplace knowingly allows sellers to sell content that breaks GTA’s rules while making “millions in revenue” by taking a percentage of each sale.
According to the complaint (via Polygon), PlayerAuctions hosts listings for several types of unauthorized content. These include modded accounts with impossibly high levels and currency amounts, “money drop” services where hackers generate large amounts of in-game money for buyers, and account boosting services where sellers use cheats to improve a player’s account.
“While GTA lets players experience a fictional underworld of lawless enterprise, the entities behind PlayerAuctions own and operate a real one,” stated Take-Two’s lawyers in the complaint.
Take-Two further claims that PlayerAuctions encourages these rule-breaking sales by offering refunds to customers if their purchased hacked accounts get banned later. The lawsuit states that Take-Two has repeatedly notified PlayerAuctions about these violations and even sent a cease and desist letter, but the marketplace has refused to remove the listings.
The gaming company is seeking several forms of relief, including a permanent ban preventing PlayerAuctions from selling any content related to Take-Two’s games. They’re also asking for damages for trademark infringement, legal costs, and other financial compensation. Under copyright law, Take-Two could be entitled to up to $150,000 for each copyright infringed, potentially resulting in a massive financial penalty.
Take-Two isn’t the first major gaming company to take legal action against PlayerAuctions. As reported by Polygon, Roblox filed a similar lawsuit in February 2025 in the Northern District of California. The first hearing in the Roblox case is scheduled for March 20 in Oakland, where Roblox will seek a preliminary injunction to stop PlayerAuctions from selling Roblox-related products while the case continues.
PlayerAuctions claims to offer similar services for over 200 different games, including popular titles like World of Warcraft, Genshin Impact, Valorant, Final Fantasy 14, Call of Duty, and Fortnite. This widespread operation suggests that other game developers might join Take-Two and Roblox in taking legal action against the marketplace.
This legal battle comes as Take-Two prepares for the fall 2025 launch of the highly anticipated GTA 6. The company likely wants to ensure that any new version of GTA Online launching alongside GTA 6 will be as free from cheaters as possible.
As of now, PlayerAuctions has not publicly issued any formal response to the lawsuit.
