Wait, what?
Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of 2K, has said that various 2K Sports’ Virtual Currency (VC) are “fictions created by game publishers” in a lawsuit that claims purchased VC is stolen from players when a title is spun down.
“VC [virtual currency] is not plaintiff’s property,” a Take-Two lawyer stated, as first reported by Game File. “Instead, in-game VC are fictions created by game publishers, subject to the publishers’ terms of service and user agreements.”
The original lawsuit alleges that 2K keeping unspent VC is “unfair, illegal and greedy” and requests that Take-Two and 2K issue refunds on said in-game currency if titles are shut down.
2K shut down servers for WWE 2K22 on 3 January 2024, as an example of the lifespan of a sports title.
Quite interestingly, Take-Two deemed Grand Theft Auto Online‘s Shark Cards and the like as less than fiction in a lawsuit it launched back in 2018.
In said lawsuit, Take-Two sued Elusive program creator Jhonny Perez as the program itself could amend the game in ways including the circumvention of the need to purchase GTA Online‘s in-game currency of Shark Cards.
“In essence, Defendant is free riding on Take-Two’s intellectual property to sell a commercial product that interferes with the carefully orchestrated and balanced gameplay that Take-Two created for its players,” Take-Two said in a court filing.
“Take-Two has been irreparably harmed by Mr. Perez’s infringing conduct and will continue to be harmed unless enjoined,” US District Court Judge Kevin Castel wrote in an order attached to the suit.
Judge Castle added that Perez’s Elusive, which was allegedly sold for pricing ranging between $10-30 USD, “creates new features and elements in Grand Theft Auto which can be used to harm legitimate players”.
In 2019, Perez was ordered to pay Take-Two $150,000 USD in damages, and an additional $66,868 USD in fees.
We’ll keep you informed as this current lawsuit progresses.
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