Tag Archives: Grand Theft Auto V

Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto Online Has a Serious Security Bug for PC Users

Photo: Sergei Elagin (Shutterstock)

Reports indicate that a bug in Grand Theft Auto V Online is putting PC gamers’ gameplay—and even, potentially, hardware—at risk.

The bug is allegedly allowing cheaters and modders to hijack, edit, or corrupt PC gamers account information. Some players report having all of their gameplay and account data erased, while others have said that their in-game currency has been stolen. Worse, the bug allegedly allows for “partial remote code execution,” which could allow malicious users to edit players PC files. While GTA’s publisher, Rockstar Games, hasn’t officially commented on the situation yet, many commentators have encouraged PC players to refrain from playing the game until we all have a better picture of what’s going on.

News of the troubles first started popping up in various pockets of the internet over the weekend, with one particular observer, the twitter account Tez2 (which regularly updates about Rockstar news), posting extensively about the exploit. Complaints also exploded in Rockstar’s official support forums.

“Gta online on pc is currently unplayable due to severe exploits, this needs to be fixed,” one user posted.

“Scared to play online,” another commented. “Please fix this rockstar, I really like this game.”

Another merely said: “GET YOUR *** TOGETHER ROCKSTAR!”

Meanwhile, a subreddit devoted to the game has called for players to avoid the game until further notice. “As we’ve learned it is not safe to play the game on PC right now due to a very dangerous exploit that has just come to light,” reads a pinned post shared in the subreddit. “We need to mass-report this to Rockstar so they can’t ignore it.”

On the same subreddit, users have expressed frustration that Rockstar hasn’t addressed—or even confirmed—the security issue yet: “Absolutely the most unforgivable element of this. R* is more concerned with bad press than telling people the extent to which their game has been breached and what danger it poses to their personal information,” commented one user. “It really makes me think the worst, if they can’t even come out and say X is safe for now.”

Tez2, which has been monitoring the situation, has written that “Rockstar is aware [of the problem] and have been logging any affected account before the first mod menu started abusing the new exploits.” However, the company itself hasn’t published an official statement on the issue yet.

BleepingComputer has reported that the vulnerability associated with the exploit has already accrued an official CVE designation and is being tracked as CVE-2023-24059. The CVE describes the bug as allowing a hacker to “achieve partial remote code execution or modify files on a PC.” There aren’t a whole lot of details available about how the exploit is supposed to work, however.

Gizmodo reached out to Rockstar for comment on the apparent security problems but have not heard back. We will update this story if they respond.

If the bug does turn out to be real, it would be far from the first bit of security trouble that Rockstar has been through lately. Last year, a cybercriminal managed to compromise the gaming giant’s systems and proceeded to steal (and later leak) source code to the upcoming GTA 6.



Read original article here

One Of The Best-Selling Steam Games Last Month Was A Police Sim

Image: Aesir Interactive

Valve just updated its list of the top new releases on Steam for November. There are the usual suspects like Crysis 2 and 3, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Sonic Frontiers. There’s also my favorite single player game of the year, Pentiment, and a neat little pixely extraction shooter that caught our eye a few months ago called Zero Sievert. But one of the top 20 best-selling Steam games last month was, of all things, a fucking police sim.

Released last month, Police Simulator: Patrol Officers takes place in the fictional U.S. city of Brighton. The game asks you to “take up the badge” as a cop, which actually means harassing citizens with traffic violation citations, arresting them for possession of drugs, “chasing graffiti sprayers,” and other cop things. It’s currently holding a “very positive” review status, with several active and former law enforcement officers chiming in to the comments, and others who didn’t get enough of a kick out of bullying people in childhood weighing in, as well.

One reviewer sums up a typical experience in Police Simulator. It’s written out like a poem (and you should read it as such):

I started my first shift.
I saw a lady jay walking, so I stopped her.
She seemed nervous, so I asked for her ID.
I decided then to search her.
She ran.
I shot her with my stun gun.
I found a switch blade and human teeth, so I arrested her.
I called for back up, and they threw her in the patty wagon.
Cleaning the streets, one person at a time.

I mean where to even begin with this? Honestly, this makes that Call of Duty level from the last game look tame. And what is with the human teeth? Do the devs assume people carry such things around, and do that regular ol’ street cops spend most of their time thwarting murders with a penchant for taking teeth? “First person I searched I found human teeth. 10/10” reads another review.

Other reviews suggest this is a pretty straightforward, somewhat buggy and feature-lacking civil duty sim. Such a boring job, it seems, isn’t up to everyone’s hopes. Another Steam review reads:

Pro’s[sic]: Be a cop.

Con’s[sic]: Can’t be a bad cop.

First thing I did was pull out my pistol and shoot a lady that was jaywalking and I got booted off the job. I couldn’t even do the remaining 16 bullets in my mag before reloading and yelling at her not to move.

Fun game, but a bit unrealistic.

7/10 – worth it for ramming your policecar [sic] into randoms and fleeing the scene.

“Shoot first talk later” reads another review. “This game was pretty fun at first” laments a negative review, “but unlike LSPDFR mod in Grand Theft Auto V, you HAVE to play by a real Cop’s duties. You have no real freedom to goof around.”

I’ve played a ton of GTA, a game where you regularly do horrible things to people, but this one strikes me as a little odd. I probably shouldn’t throw stones, and there are other examples of questionably tone deaf uses of police imagery in games. But it’s hard not to read comments from people bemoaning that a game meant to simulate daily police work which is mostly, boring civil offenses like traffic violations is not exciting enough because it doesn’t give you enough opportunities to shoot people.

 

Read original article here

NFL’s Best Team Plays A Lot Of GTA Online Roleplay Together

Photo: Mitchell Leff (Getty Images)

The Philadelphia Eagles currently have the best record in the NFL, with 10 wins and only a single loss. And while you might expect this great record is the result of hard work, lots of practice, talented players, and some luck, you might be surprised to discover that Grand Theft Auto and online roleplaying are also a potential part of the team’s successful season.

Grand Theft Auto V is a very, very popular open-world video game that has been released on nearly as many consoles as Skyrim at this point. It also has a large online mode that is still—nearly a decade after its 2013 release—one of the most played games in the world. But, for many players, GTA Online isn’t the multiplayer experience they crave. Instead, players have flocked to modified versions of GTA V to play online in roleplay servers. These mods and fan-run servers allow people to roleplay together as cops, EMTs, firefighters, criminals, taxi drivers, and more. And it’s this specific type of online GTA experience—which Rockstar Games doesn’t regulate or control as tightly—that many Philadelphia Eagles team members are playing when off the field.

As reported by The New York Times, many Eagles players get excited to hop online and play with other team members after spending hours watching past games, studying, practicing, and weightlifting. For many, this offers them the chance to stop being NFL players and to be someone totally different. It also helps players in different positions, who don’t normally spend much time together, bond more, developing closer friendships that Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson says is the team’s “secret sauce.” He also runs one of the team’s own GTA roleplay servers from his basement, where he has a gaming PC setup that cost him $10,000.

Read More: NFL Linebacker Retires After Selling Rare Pokémon Card For Over $650,000

Other players told the Times that after playing GTA together online, they are all more connected and happier for each other, leading to players wanting to do more for each other on the field. For many Eagles, playing Grand Theft Auto with fellow teammates fits perfectly into their schedule, too.

“A lot of people, especially me, are just at home doing nothing,” Eagles running back Miles Sanders said. “Since I’ve got my PC, I’ve been on the game more and calling people more.” Other Eagles teammates who play GTA with each other include defensive players Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, linebacker Stewart Bradley, and running back Miles Sanders. In fact, according to The New York Times story, Sander’s GTA character was stuck in prison on Gardner-Johnson’s server earlier in the season. Some players, like running back Kenneth Gainwell even stream themselves playing GTA on Twitch for hours at a time.

Not only has roleplaying together in modded GTA servers helped players connect more, but it also offers them more things to talk about off the field beyond football. And for players like Gardner-Johnson, it’s all they want to do after working hard all day.

“I just want to play football, come home, and play video games,” said Gardner Johnson.

Read original article here

17-Year-Old Suspected GTA 6 Leaker Has Been Arrested

Image: Rockstar Games

Today, London City Police announced they had arrested a 17-year-old from Oxfordshire Thursday evening. While the police have yet to confirm why, it’s been reported that the teen was arrested in connection with the recent Uber and Grand Theft Auto VI leaks. The suspect remains in City Police custody at this time.

As reported by The Desk and reporter Matthew Keys, the arrest of the suspected 17-year-old GTA hacker by police in the United Kingdom was part of an investigation being conducted by the FBI and the UK’s Cyber Crime Unit. It had previously been reported that the FBI was likely looking into the recent hacks at Uber and Rockstar Games.

A source told The Desk that the teenager is being held on numerous charges, including conspiracy to attack at least two different computer systems.

It’s believed that the teenage hacker arrested Thursday evening in Oxfordshire is connected to the hacker group “Laspus$.” This group of hackers is allegedly also involved with high-profile digital intrusions at other large companies including Uber, Microsoft, Cisco, Samsung, Nvidia, and Okta. The group first showed up in 2021, hacking Brazil’s Ministry of Health. It was thought the group had gone inactive, but earlier this month it allegedly ramped up its activities again and targeted Uber and Rockstar Games.

The Grand Theft Auto VI leak that occurred over the weekend was one of the largest video game leaks in history. 90 video files showcasing early development footage of the next GTA game, which is assumed to be GTA VI, were posted on the GTA Forums and quickly spread across the internet. The footage seemed to confirm previous reports and rumors that GTA VI would be set in Vice City and would star two different characters, a Bonnie-and-Clyde-like criminal couple.

On Monday, September 19, following the leak, Rockstar Games confirmed that someone had “illegally” gained access to its files and shared them online. It also stated that this leak would not slow down production on the game and that it planned to reveal it in a more official way soon.

  



Read original article here

Saints Row CEO Sounds Disappointed About New Reboot’s Sales

Image: Deep Silver

While digital and physical sales of the Saints Row reboot hit a strong second place in both American and European markets, the open-world crime sim was denied first place by Madden NFL 23 and Grand Theft Auto V, respectively. While second place isn’t bad, the Saints Row reboot has actually been a bit of a flop, at least as far as Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors is concerned.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, 7.7 million games sold in tracked European territories during the month of August, and 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V lead the pack. Saints Row came in at second, sandwiched between Rockstar’s god-tier mega hit and FIFA 22. And in the States, Video Game Chronicle has the NPD stats, showing the crime reboot losing out to Madden NFL 23. Quite a duo: Madden NFL 23 had disastrous reviews, and GTA V came out (exhales) nine years ago.

To be fair, Saints Row didn’t launch until August 23, while GTA V was of course available during the entire month. (Madden came out on August 19.) But Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors seems pretty down on its performance, too. Axios’ Stephen Totilo reports that during an investor call today, Wingefors described the crime-sim reboot as “one of the harder ones” for the company to see a return on. He’s hoping to see a “greater reception” on the game and that, while it certainly won over some players, many others haven’t been convinced.

It wasn’t all gloom and doom, however. Wingefors stressed that the company needs to “wait until the quarterly report in November to have more details.” Responding to inquiries about the future of the franchise, Wingefors highlighted his trust in those working on the game and said that any potential decisions are uncertain for now.

2022’s Saints Row, a reboot of the long-running open-world crime series, has been fighting an uphill battle since its somewhat polarizing reveal last year. Though the series has always played second fiddle to the GTA titan, its reappearance hasn’t been terribly well received by critics and fans alike, though Kotaku’s Zack Zwiezen found it a fun-enough time.

It’s one thing to contemplate what a modern Saints Row would need to look like and achieve in order to be as popular with gamers as it once was; it’s another to consider how anything at this point could unseat something that remains as remarkably popular as Grand Theft Auto V. Aside, that is, from its recently-leaked-to-all-hell sequel.



Read original article here

Grand Theft Auto V Mod For PC Looks Like Grand Theft Auto VI

Screenshot: NaturalVision Remastered

We’ve been writing about the mod NaturalVision for years, almost as long as Grand Theft Auto V has been out on PC, and each time we revisit the project it continues to amaze.

Originally a mod designed to tweak the game’s graphics a little for more discerning PC users, NaturalVision was overhauled back in 2017 to become NaturalVision Remastered, and development has continued—and made huge advances—ever since.

Back then I was impressed enough by cars having more detail and some fancier lighting. Now…now my socks are blown clean off. This trailer released earlier today isn’t just a fantastic showcase of everything the mod now offers, but helpfully stops at a few points and makes direct comparisons with the vanilla game to show you just far and deep some of these modifications run.

The sparkling visuals are of course the first and biggest thing on show here, from the lighting effects to increased texture sizes, it’s all absolutely incredible. But I’m also loving some of the stuff that might not be immediately noticeable while playing, but which is still a really nice touch. Like parallax interiors for buildings, meaning that as you walk past or fly over a building, if you can see inside its windows those interiors will shift their perspective to match yours.

The fully-animated signs really make the game come alive, too, especially at night, while changes have also been made to the game’s weather, ambient colour palette, ground textures and vegetation “in order to blur the line between fantasy and reality.”

If you want to download the Early Access version of the mod as it currently stands, you can get it at the Patreon page of Razed, the leader of the mod’s development. Also, credit where credit is due to Denis ‘IceVip’ Sitarski, who put that very stylish trailer together.

Read original article here

Microsoft Bug Says Elden Rings, GTA V Available On Game Pass

Image: Elden Ring / GTA V

Earlier this week, some folks checking Microsoft’s Cloud Gaming beta website noticed something weird: listings for games like Elden Ring and Grand Theft Auto V not only said they were part of the company’s Game Pass offering, but would also be playable on the cloud.

Here’s a screengrab of Elden Ring’s page, taken by @klobrille, clearly showing both the “GAME PASS” badge and the fact that it’s playable on the Cloud Gaming beta:

Listings for Grand Theft Auto V (which has already been on the service and left) and, weirdly, Soul Hackers, all declared they were now on the subscription service. Even weirder is the fact that none of those things had ever been announced, which you’d think would be the case given the prominence of both Elden Ring and GTA V.

There’s a reason for that, of course. Microsoft have since told Eurogamer that the listings were a “bug. “We’re aware of a bug that incorrectly displayed some titles as available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate,” a representative says. “We rolled out a fix and this is now updated.”

Normally this kind of administrative, backend stuff wouldn’t be that exciting, but what got people interested here is that GamesCom is less than two weeks away, with Microsoft due to make a significant appearance (and a live presentation). And in June, Microsoft announced that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users would be able to play “select” titles they own via Cloud Gaming, even if they weren’t part of the Game Pass catalogue.

Put those two things together and it seemed entirely plausible that Microsoft had simply jumped the gun on a couple of GamesCom announcements. Calling these listings a “bug” certainly seems to put a dampener on that enthusiasm, but GamesCom kicks off on August 22, just in case you want to keep an eye on things anyway.



Read original article here

GTA Online’s Last New Mission Is Actually Terrifying

Screenshot: Rockstar Games / Kotaku

Earlier this week, Rockstar released a massive free update for Grand Theft Auto Online. For the most part it focused on improving and expanding on what was already in the game. But the update also included a new series of missions involving covert government operations and conspiracies, and this new campaign ends with what is easily GTA Online’s creepiest mission ever, surprising many unsuspecting players.

GTA Online’s latest update, “Criminal Enterprises,” was a biggie, helping make the game feel more modern while also making it easier (and more fun) to earn in-game cash. It’s a solid update, even nerfing the legendarily OP jetbike and adding the ability to run in the casino. While it did add a really shitty semi-auto rifle that nobody likes, that’s a minor blip in an otherwise great patch.

Also added is a new campaign made up of a few missions involving the IAA (GTA’s version of the CIA) fighting to stop a rich family from controlling the planet’s oil prices. Don’t give them too much credit, as they want to take the tech the family is using so they can control prices themselves.

But what I and many others didn’t expect was for this spy-themed thriller full of car chases and shootouts to end with a creepy, horror-game-like mission that’s genuinely scary and unsettling. I don’t want to spoil it for folks who haven’t played yet, so here’s your spoiler warning!

In the final mission, the IAA sends you to a bunker last seen in the “Doomsday Heist” update. It turns out that the super AI developed and housed here wasn’t completely erased by authorities back when you raided the place, and that’s how a rich family was able to control oil prices—using a copy of this AI. (Just nod your head and pretend this makes sense…) Inside the bunker, the power is out, and lurking in hallways and around corners are “sleeping” robots with human faces. These are the juggernauts from Doomsday, and they were left here to hibernate because apparently, the IAA is really bad at cleaning up its messes.

These slumbering hulks seem to breathe, or at least make a noise that sounds like breathing. As you walk around in the dark, relying on a flashlight, these things will occasionally make other noises and even twitch. I even swear one of them moved when I wasn’t looking. Rockstar also made sure to place these scary juggernauts in specific spots where you’ll run into them or will hear them as you explore somewhere else, looking for fuses to get the power back on.

Screenshot: Rockstar Games / Kotaku

I won’t give any awards for guessing what happens once you get the power back on and start hacking into the place: Shocker, all of those creepy robot bastards wake up and start coming for you. But after skulking by them all for 20 minutes or so in the dark, at least you know how many are waiting, and how long of a trek you have to escape out of the bunker. Luckily, I had my giant Gatling laser gun with me and made short work of them all before escaping and completing the mission.

Like myself, other players hopping into this final mission had no idea what to expect and many have shared stories online of how scary it was, with one player suggesting they will have trouble sleeping now. Others shared how tense they felt creeping around in the dark, trying to avoid the robots out of fear that touch would activate the nasty buggers. It should also be noted that one of the fuses you have to find is hidden behind some breakable boxes, which is a very uncommon gameplay mechanic for a GTA Online mission. Many players report spending a long time just creeping around the dark hallways, desperately trying to find the last fuse to escape the nightmare.

I love when Rockstar experiments and gets creative with GTA Online missions. Nearly a decade after its release, it’s a bit boring to drive around and just shoot a few people. Randomly ending things with a Slenderman-like experience is not only fun, but a great way to keep the game feeling fresh after all these years. More of this in the future, Rockstar.

 

Read original article here

Don’t Buy The New GTA Online Precision Rifle, It Sucks

Image: Rockstar Games / Kotaku

Earlier this week, Rockstar Games released the latest, big update for Grand Theft Auto Online, its super popular open-world MMO. The new update brought some much-needed changes and features to the nearly decade-old game. It also added a new semi-auto rifle to the digital streets of Los Santos that cost nearly half a million dollars and… it completely sucks. It’s so bad, that many are confused as to why it was even added.

The free Criminal Enterprises update for GTA Online launched on July 26 and it brought with it a lot of improvements and new features to the game, many of which had been requested by fans for years. The update includes stuff like the ability to do sell missions in a private session and the ability to finally run around the casino or inside nightclubs. It also added new track creator features and simplified eating snacks and using armor. All and all, not a super flashy or sexy update, but a smart one that will help keep the aging game playable and fun.

The update also added a new weapon that just really sucks.

The Precision Rifle is, in theory, supposed to be a semi-auto sniper rifle that is highly precise and can be used in mid-range to long-range gunfights. And for an eye-watering high price of $450,000 (without discounts) a lot of players might expect some decent bang for their buck. I know I did when I picked up the gun the moment I logged in after the update was live. What I and other players actually got for that high price tag was pretty terrible.

The first red flag appeared before I even fired the gun. After buying it, I went to spend some extra cash on upgrading it and adding some accessories, like a scope or silencer. This is a pretty common part of GTA Online and basically, all of my other guns have similar options. But the Precision Rifle doesn’t have any of this. All you can do is swap out the colors on it. There’s no scope, extended mag, flashlights, or anything. This made me nervous, but I figured at the time that perhaps it was so good it didn’t need that stuff. You read the headline and made it this far so I don’t have to tell you—but I will anyway—I was wrong. So wrong.

Rockstar Games / IQW

In the very first firefight against some random police who started attacking me for no reason at all (don’t look at all the dead bodies around me) I quickly discovered this rifle has a very slow firing rate. It also doesn’t seem any more precise or accurate than most of my other rifles and pistols. Against other players it also doesn’t seem to do much damage, taking three or four body shots to kill a troll trying to annoy you. While it does sound cool, that’s about all this expensive firearm has going for it.

Within the GTA Online community, the feedback from players is mostly negative. The vast majority of players online feel the gun is a ripoff and a waste of money, comparing it to cheaper rifles that have similar or even superior stats. I saw one player compare it to a Nerf blaster. Not a great review of a thing that is supposed to be a deadly weapon.

Read More: Ranking All The Grand Theft Auto Games, From Worst To Best

Adding to the negative reaction is that players were expecting another, different weapon to also be a part of this new update. That gun is the M16-like Service Rifle, a gun that Rockstar teased in screenshots released before Criminal Enterprises was released. But after the update hit, the gun was nowhere to be found. It turns out, via dataminers, that the Service Rifle is coming and will be a reward for completing a scavenger hunt.

Oddly, some players are reporting that when they loaded up the game after the update they found the Service Rifle in their inventory already. This version of the gun seems bugged and it’s all likely an unintended mistake. But at least it’s hard to complain about a crappy, bugged gun when it’s “free”.

Kotaku has reached out to Rockstar about the Service Rifle and if there are any plans to update or change the poorly-received Precision Rifle. Until something changes, I’d suggest you save your money and buy something else. And hey, at least Rockstar nerfed the terrible OP jetbike!

  



Read original article here

Red Dead Online Will Get More Updates…One Day

Screenshot: Rockstar Games

It’s been nearly a year since Red Dead Online’s last major update. The long wait for new content has led to a growing movement among some players to #SaveRedDeadOnline, putting pressure on developer Rockstar using social media and emails. Today, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive, confirmed that he and his company were aware of all the frustration and assured fans more was planned, but didn’t offer any details or a timeframe for when those updates would come.

Red Dead Online—the multiplayer spin-off of 2018’s Red Dead Redemption II—hasn’t received a new, substantial update since July 2021. That last update, Blood Money, added some new robberies, clothing items, and a slew of short-lived battle passes. Even before that, large updates to Rockstar’s open-world online western game were rare, often separated by many months of nothing but small weekly events where players could earn a bit of extra XP or cash for playing old content, again. Meanwhile, Rockstar’s other ongoing multiplayer game, Grand Theft Auto Online, continues to receive large and small updates at a much more rapid pace. This has led to a tense situation among RDO players, who feel frustrated, ignored, and who believe the game is abandoned like a dead bandit in the desert.

Today, speaking to IGN, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the frustration among RDO players, adding that he was “flattered” by it all.

“I’ve heard the frustration,” said Zelnick. “it’s flattering that [RDO players] want more content, and more will be said by Rockstar in due time.”

After that nothing-burger answer, Zelnick then told IGN that it wasn’t his place to talk about RDO’s future, and instead he would allow Rockstar Games to talk about what updates might be coming down the mountain for the game.

“Rockstar Games talks about the updates that are coming,” Zelnick told IGN. “And we’re working on an awful lot at Rockstar Games.”

Update, 5/16/22, 6:35 p.m. EST: Well, it seems this sort-of-encouraging news was too good to be true. Take-Two sent over a clarification to IGN about its CEO statements regarding the future of RDO, explaining that Zelnick was “solely referring to the online servers” for the game and explained it wasn’t confirming any future content updates are in the works, instead saying Rockstar would get to decide if and when such updates would come to RDO.

Original story continues

Read More: GTA 6 Development Underway, And It’s ‘Significantly’ More Ambitious

IGN also asked Zelnick if Take-Two and Rockstar Games planned on supporting Red Dead Online for the long-term and he confirmed that was indeed the plan, though again offered no specific details or timetable on when frustrated players could expect any new updates.

While some in the RDO community are just happy to hear that RDO has a future and that their frustration has been noticed, others are (understandably) disappointed that nearly a year after the game’s last update, Rockstar and Take-Two don’t have more to offer.

Yet, even though the game continues to linger around like the last zombie you need to kill before the next wave spawns, Rockstar has never stopped letting folks invest money into Red Dead Online via in-game microtransactions, even as its content drought rapidly approaches its second year.



Read original article here