Take-Two asks MyMetaverse to delete its NFTs on GTA servers

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MyMetaverse CEO Simon Kertonegoro thought he had a great use case for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by allowing players to use them and associated artwork such as cars on Grand Theft Auto servers. But Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of GTA creator Rockstar Games, is putting a stop to that.

On Friday, Rockstar released an advisory stating what players can and cannot do on their own servers. He said he encourages "reasonable fan creativity" and third-party role-playing servers as a rich extension of community-created experiences within Grand Theft Auto. It therefore allows solo mods on PC.

But he also said that under Take-Two legal policy, he would not allow commercial exploitation. Players are not permitted to sell loot boxes for real or virtual GTA currency, sell other virtual currencies, or embed cryptocurrencies and crypto assets, such as NFTs.

Players are also not allowed to generate revenue from their servers through in-game integrations or corporate sponsorships. Rockstar and Take-Two also stop misusing Rockstar's intellectual property and trademarks, importing or using other companies' intellectual property, selling loot boxes, and the use of real-world marks, characters, brands, or music. Players may not engage in the "sale of virtual currencies, generating revenue through corporate sponsorships or in-game integrations, or the use of cryptocurrencies or cryptographic assets (e.g., "NFT"); (iv) create new games, stories, missions, or maps; or (v) interfere with our official multiplayer or online services, including Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online."

Last September, MyMetaverse and Enjin announced that they had launched playable NFTs on the Grand Theft Auto V and Minecraft game servers.

MetaHome NFTs provided unique gameplay utility in all worlds where they were recognized. In Infinity Auto, a MyMetaverse Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 5 server, they took the form of a rare vehicle that players could purchase outside of the game and import into the game as a fully functional 3D animated car. MyMetaverse also had a similar NFT option for Minecraft servers.

The MyMetaverse "MetaHome" NFT collection was the first created on Efinity, an NFT parachain built on Polkadot. MyMetaverse, based in Sydney, Australia, said these are the first in-game NFTs that have been created on Efinity through the MetaHome NFT Collection.

Kertonegoro said his company believes this is the future of gaming and is an ideal way for Rockstar to create a connected experience and community through its titles.

“We are disappointed to find out that we were wrong,” said Kertonegoro. "Today we received a letter from Rockstar parent company Take-Two asking us to cease all operations on the Infinity Auto server."

While Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has touted NFTs as a natural way to extend concepts like digital collectibles, Take-Two hasn't launched any collectibles itself Formal NFT, perhaps because the legal frameworks have not been put in place. and many players and game developers oppose it.

Take-Two asked MyMetaverse to comply with its takedown request in a few weeks, and Kertonegoro said the company did.

Here is Kertonegoro's full statement.

"Our ultimate dream was to collaborate with Rockstar and create a way for...