2K’s parent company Take-Two has called virtual currency (VC) “fictions” and claim virtual currency “is not plaintiff’s property.” Take Two and 2K were sued in a class-action lawsuit in November 2023 over microtransactions.
The lawsuit brought against the videogame publisher argues that Take Two and NBA 2K are stealing from NBA 2K players – who buy virtual currency (VC) with real money for the game – yet are at risk of losing it every time 2K shuts down one of its game servers. VC is used to buy attribute upgrades for MyPLAYERS, MyTEAM coins, and various in-game items.
Take Two’s lawyers argued that “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 referred to their End User License Agreement [EULA], which states that the company has the right to “manage, regulate, control, modify, suspend, and/or eliminate” its virtual currency “as it sees fit,” unless “prohibited by applicable law.” So essentially, 2K is saying that even if gamers buy VC with real money, they don’t actually “own” it.
2K has also responded to the lawsuit with a new Terms of Service (TOS) update for NBA 2K24 – which will go into effect on February 28, 2024 – in an attempt to protect themselves from future class-action lawsuits over microtransactions.
The court will decide in March 2024 on whether to proceed with the case or not. We’ll keep you updated on this pivotal case and inform you of any future developments. Stay tuned!
