2K Claims You Don’t Own Your Virtual Currency In Response To Lawsuit

Take Two and 2K make claims that your paid-for virtual currency isn't actually your property.
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2k Virtual Currency
Image: 2K Games

In recent legal developments, game publisher Take-Two Interactive and its subsidiary 2K Games have drawn attention for their stance on virtual currency (VC) in NBA 2K and similar sports games. The companies are facing a lawsuit in federal court in California, filed by a minor represented by their mother, over the handling of in-game microtransactions.

Take-Two’s legal representatives have contended that the virtual currency is not the players’ property. They assert that in-game virtual currency is a fictional creation of the game publishers and is subject to the terms of service and user agreements. This stance forms the basis of their request to dismiss the case, emphasizing that players do not own the virtual currency.

Obviously, this is just a way for Take-Two to undermine the lawsuit to try and get it out. They neglect to mention that this isn’t the virtual currency you earn by playing the game but the currency you pay real money to have in-game. By not mentioning that part, they hope the court will throw out the case without considering the real-world money part.

“VC is not plaintiff’s property. Instead, in-game VC are fictions created by game publishers, subject to the publishers’ terms of service and user agreements.”

Take-Two Lawyer’s request to dismiss

It says a lot that Take-Two would withhold the important information about the real-world money players give the publisher to have virtual currency. It makes me feel like they know that part is a big deal and won’t be in a good position if that gets brought up.

The suit centers on the sale of virtual currency for purchasing in-game items and the inability to transfer this currency to newer versions of the game. It alleges that Take-Two’s approach, coupled with deactivating servers for older sports games relatively soon after new editions are released, constitutes “unfair, illegal and greedy” behavior.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time Take-Two has faced legal action related to microtransactions in NBA 2K. The company was previously sued over loot boxes in the game, with a judge ruling in 2022 that the matter should be settled through arbitration, thus keeping any resolution out of the public eye.

We’re eager to see how this lawsuit unfolds.

Jorge A. Aguilar

Jorge A. Aguilar

Jorge A. Aguilar, also known as Aggy, is the current Assigning Editor.

He started his career as an esports, influencer, and streaming writer for Sportskeeda. He then moved to GFinity Esports to cover streaming, games, guides, and news before moving to the Social team where he ended his time as the Lead of Social Content.

He also worked a writer and editor for both Pro Game Guides and Dot Esports, and as a writer for PC Invasion, Attack of the Fanboy, and Android Police. Aggy is the former Managing Editor and Operations Overseer of N4G Unlocked and a former Gaming editor for WePC.

Throughout his time in the industry, he's trained over 100 writers, written thousands of articles on multiple sites, written more reviews than he cares to count, and edited tens of thousands of articles. He has also written some games published by Tales, some books, and a comic sold to Telus International.

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