Rockstar Games is trying to deal with lagging and conking out servers, a result of Epic Games mystery free game offering last May 14. The free game was "Grand Theft Auto 5" and there were a lot of people who took them up on the offer. Unfortunately, it appears the ones who are logging on to the servers are not purely new players. Reports are coming in that hackers and modders are also getting into the picture.
Though Rockstar Games announced that they have already fixed their game servers, the worst is yet to come. Originally, most were blaming Epic Games for the mess with millions of players logging in to try "GTA V." But it appears the mess has radiated and the load the servers are dealing with is not plainly about the volume of players. Hackers are flooding the servers after practically gaining free access due to the recent free offering.
With the decreased performance of the servers, some "GTA Online" gamers are complaining about gameplay. A thread over in Reddit shows how some are dealing with unusual activity in the game. That includes some getting trapped in cages and others seeing non-playing characters and objects spawning in weird places or on top of them. The whole thing has become a nuisance for players, most now asking if Epic Games is to be blamed for offering "GTA V" for free.
Looking ahead, Rockstar Games is expected to experience more issues. There is no telling how many hackers have already logged in and the numbers could grow in the coming days. "Grand Theft Auto 5" remains free for the taking until May 21. This means administrators will need to keep a close watch on the servers in the coming days. More outages are likely to happen. If not, smooth gameplay is unlikely to be enjoyed by most.
Rockstar Games may need to address the issue with a fix soon. Aside from that, they will need to find a way to determine who the hackers and modders are and take necessary steps against them. Doing that will not be easy but a must for the safety of people logging on simply to play.
Rockstar Games has yet to comment on these rants but could be working for a solution to the problem. With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping most at home, the number of players playing "GTA Online" is unsurprising huge. Unfortunately, most forgot that hackers are also idle and pretty much want to continue their evil deeds.
