Rockstar acquires GTA 5 roleplay devs Cfx.re

Rockstar Games has announced that it has acquired CFX.RE, the group behind some of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2’s most popular modding tools.

“Today, we are proud to announce that Cfx.re — the team behind the biggest Rockstar roleplay and creator communities, FiveM and RedM — are now officially a part of Rockstar Games,” the company wrote on its website.

“Over the past few years, we’ve watched with excitement as Rockstar’s creative community have found new ways to expand the possibilities of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, particularly through the creation of dedicated roleplay servers.

“As a way to further support those efforts, we recently expanded our policy on mods to officially include those made by the roleplay creative community.

“By partnering with the Cfx.re team, we will help them find new ways to support this incredible community and improve the services they provide to their developers and players.”

GTA 5 roleplaying exploded in popularity on Twitch during the pandemic. The mod, which sees players use the framework of GTA to create brand new game modes, an expanded inventory system, a law enforcement framework, and other life-simulation-style mechanics, is regularly watched by hundreds of thousands of viewers.

This move may come as a surprise to those who recall Rockstar’s previous history with modders.

In 2021, Rockstar sued a group of modders that it alleges reverse-engineered the source code for GTA 3 and GTA Vice City. This case was later settled privately.