It would seem as though theGrand Theft Auto Onlinecommunity has seen a massive jump in players, as it’sfree on the Epic Games Storethis week. Unfortunately, not all of the players that have jumped into the game are out to play fair, as hackers and modders have been flooding onto servers now that they have free access.
The giveaway ofGrand Theft Auto 5, along with its online component, has easily been the most successful free game on the Epic Games Store. EvenFortnite went downthanks to all of the increased traffic that the free game brought the online store, and with that many people coming to jump into the game, that does, unfortunately, mean that some less than friendly players are coming online as well.
RELATED:Grand Theft Auto 5 NaturalVision Evolved Graphics Mod Teased in Stunning Trailer
Players on theGTA Onlinesubreddit have voiced their annoyance with hackers coming into the game and disrupting everything. Some players have reported getting trapped in cages, with random NPCs and objects spawning right on top of them, while others are finding that jumping into a public session can result in some interesting mods being added to their own characters. The problem has gotten so bad that players are beginning to ask, “Will GTA Online ever become normal again?” and even questioning ifgiving awayGTA Vfor freewas the best idea for the community.
When players aren’t being targeted specifically, the servers themselves have been feeling the heat as hackers load in dozens of objects, like planes, tanks, and other large vehicles, in order to lag out a server until it finally crashes. WithGTAOnlinealready crashingon its own due to the number of new players who have signed into the Epic Games Store to pick up the game, this can be frustrating for those that want to return to normal.
For now, the influx of new players may be too much for Rockstar to be able to deal with, though the company has never been above banning players for mods before, so there may be a fix sooner rather than later.
Mods can be fun to use, especially in a sandbox likeGTA 5andGTA Online,where the developers have even added cheats to the single-player mode to turn players into walking tanks on their own. Some players even ran acommunity event with alien modsearlier this month, using these mods to bring players together. However, when players are using hacks and mods to grief and ruin the fun, there is a line where messing around becomes inappropriate and should be stopped.
GTA Onlineis available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
