GTA VI Online May Contain AI-Controlled Players

Psy @Psy

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A recent addition to Rockstar Games' legal agreement hints at the possibility for players to engage with auto-generated opponents - "Computer-controlled players that look and play like real people".

On January 29th, Rockstar Games updated the Terms of Service and Legal Agreement on their website. The information is available to preview for a month and comes into effect from February 28, 2024, following a Rockstar Support article from earlier in January 2024.

There are a number of new sections in the agreement worth discussing, however, one which stands out, hints at a possible new feature in Grand Theft Auto VI's Online mode.

8.2. Auto Generated Players

Rockstar Games Terms of Service

As part of the Services, we may offer you the opportunity to play with your friends or other matched opponents. To ensure that you have available opponents at the right skill level, some of these matched opponents may be auto-generated, computer-controlled players that look and play like real people.

Source: Rockstar Games Terms of Service (Updated January 29, 2024)

AI-controlled characters in a GTA game isn't anything new. In fact there are already AI-controlled characters in GTA Online, which you'll see throughout the jobs and missions you'll complete. As far as I'm aware though, we've never had "bots" who look and act like human players.

A number of other games, particularly online shooters, include similar features which can allow you to play competitive online modes like Deathmatches, offline against computer controlled opponents. It seems unlikely that GTA VI would follow suit and allow you to play GTA Online without being 'online', however it may mean that if all of your friends are offline and you don't want to play with 'randoms', you could compete against computer controlled opponents who match your skill level, giving you a challenge without being frustratingly difficult.

What do you think? Would you prefer to play against the computer or would a race or deathmatch without human opponents feel weird to you?

More From The Terms and Conditions

Other interesting things worth noting from the new agreements are:

Section 15 — Mandatory Arbitration.

Rockstar Games Terms of Service

THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A MANDATORY ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND A WAIVER OF CLASS ACTION AND JURY TRIAL RIGHTS FOR ALL USERS RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES AND ANY OTHER TERRITORY OTHER THAN AUSTRALIA, SWITZERLAND, THE UNITED KINGDOM, OR THE TERRITORIES OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA.

FOR COVERED USERS, UNLESS YOU OPT-OUT VIA THE PROCESS IN SECTION 15.5(3), YOU WILL BE BOUND BY THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, WHICH MEANS THAT YOU AND ROCKSTAR WILL BE REQUIRED TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE, SUBJECT TO LIMITED EXCEPTIONS, BY FINAL AND BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION. THE ARBITRATION CLAUSE WAIVES YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL, AND TO PARTICIPATE IN CLASS ACTION, COLLECTIVE ACTIONS, AND ALL OTHER TYPES OF COURT PROCEEDINGS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND AND - UNLESS YOU VALIDLY OPT-OUT -- EXPRESSLY AGREE TO THE MANDATORY ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION / JURY TRIAL WAIVER

Source: Rockstar Games Terms of Service (Updated January 29, 2024)

Essentially, for users in America and some other areas, this section of the agreement is telling you that if you have a dispute with Rockstar, you'll need to resolve it through arbitration instead of going to court, unless you choose to opt out of this requirement.

I'm no legal expert so I asked ChatGPT for some help in explaining this for me:

What is Mandatory Arbitration?: This part of the agreement says that if you're using the service in the United States or other specific territories (except for Australia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, or the territories of the European Economic Area), you must resolve any disputes with the company, Rockstar, through a process called arbitration. Arbitration is a way to settle disagreements outside of court, where a neutral person (an arbitrator) listens to both sides and makes a decision.
Opting Out: If you don't want to be bound by the arbitration clause, you have the option to opt out of it. However, you must follow the process outlined in Section 15.5(3) of the agreement to do so.
Effect of Arbitration Clause: By agreeing to this agreement (unless you opt out), you're essentially giving up your right to take Rockstar to court in front of a judge and jury. You also waive your right to participate in class action lawsuits or any other type of court proceedings where multiple people are involved in the same case.

I'm not entirely sure why Rockstar felt the need to add this to the agreement, perhaps to prevent a repeat of the Hot Coffee controversy from the GTA San Andreas days, but it's definitely something to pay attention to.

There are also a number of sections which discuss "Virtual Items" and their "Digital Storefronts" which means Shark Cards and other micro-transactions where you'll buy gameplay benefits with real money won't be going away any time soon.

Have you spotted anything else of interest in the Legal Agreement? Let us know in the comments below, or on our dedicated GTA VI Forum.

Here are a few more of our AI-generated concept images giving an idea what it'd be like to play with "bots" in GTA Online. Obviously they won't actually look like this, but under the cover, they're androids in disguise!