A history of GTA roleplay

GTA roleplay is older than GTA V and was built entirely by fans. It began with unofficial multiplayer mods and grew into one of the most-watched genres on Twitch. Rockstar went from banning the tools to owning them. This is the story in order, with sources.

Facts come from Rockstar, Cfx.re (the FiveM team), framework documentation and major outlets. Numbers in brackets link to the sources at the bottom.

1. 2003Multi Theft Auto begins

   Multi Theft Auto started life in early 2003 as an unofficial multiplayer add-on for GTA III and later Vice City, long before Rockstar offered PC multiplayer of its own. Its San Andreas edition later added a Lua scripting engine, letting server owners build custom economies, jobs and inventories.^[1]

2. 2006SA-MP and the first RP servers

   San Andreas Multiplayer (SA-MP) shipped its first public build in May 2006, and roleplay servers where players simulate everyday life quickly became one of its main genres alongside racing and deathmatch. MTA:SA and SA-MP roleplay communities established many of the conventions (IC/OOC split, character names, rules against deathmatching) that GTA V RP later inherited.^[2][1]

3. 2013GTA IV mods and CitizenMP:IV

   Community multiplayer projects such as IV:MP appeared for GTA IV. The developer NTAuthority teased CitizenIV (later CitizenMP:IV) around 2013; its CitizenFX codebase became the foundation for FiveM.^[3]

4. 2015FiveM appears; Rockstar pushes back

   FiveM emerged as an alternative GTA V multiplayer client with dedicated servers. In August 2015 Rockstar banned three people linked to it from Social Club, describing it as an unauthorised multiplayer service with code that could facilitate piracy, which the team disputed. In November 2015 the lead developer said private investigators claiming to represent Take-Two visited his home.^[4][5][6]

5. 2016-2017Big RP servers form

   Early GTA V roleplay communities grew up on the alternative clients: Eclipse RP dates its founding to December 2016, and NoPixel moved from Arma 3 to GTA V via FiveM around 2017. The ESX framework also started in 2017, giving server owners a ready-made jobs-and-economy base.^[7][8][9]

6. 2019-03The Twitch GTA RP boom

   In spring 2019 large streamers such as Summit1g started playing on NoPixel, and GTA V's Twitch viewership jumped several-fold. PCGamesN, citing Newzoo, reported 58.2 million hours watched in March 2019, and Kotaku described RP as having taken over Twitch.^[10][11][12]

7. 2019-10RedM announced

   Cfx.re announced RedM, a multiplayer modification for Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC, planned for about a month after the PC release. It brought the FiveM-style dedicated server model, and Wild West roleplay, to RDR2.^[13][14]

8. 2020Tebex becomes official monetisation partner; txAdmin built in

   In March 2020 Tebex and Cfx.re announced a partnership that made Tebex the official way to take payments for FiveM servers. The same year txAdmin became a built-in part of FXServer, making server setup and management far easier.^[15][16][17]

9. 2021-04250,000 concurrent players

   Cfx.re announced 250,000 players online at once across the FiveM/RedM platform in April 2021, during the peak of the pandemic-era RP boom.^[18]

10. 2022-11Rockstar publishes RP server policy

    Rockstar posted a support article saying it tolerates reasonable fan-made RP servers but listing Take-Two's enforcement priorities, including IP misuse, loot boxes, virtual-currency sales, third-party brand deals and crypto/NFTs. Outlets such as PCGamesN reported on it in November 2022.^[19][20]

11. 2023-08Cfx.re joins Rockstar

    On 11 August 2023 Rockstar announced that Cfx.re, the team behind FiveM and RedM, was officially part of Rockstar Games. PC Gamer noted the irony that Rockstar had banned the same team eight years earlier.^{[21][22][23][24]}

12. 2023-09New platform licence rules

    After the acquisition a new Platform License Agreement took effect, and servers had to remove things like real-world car brands and imported maps from other games, according to Sportskeeda's coverage.^[25][26]

13. 2024-01300,000 concurrent players

    Cfx.re's January 2024 Community Pulse reported the platform passing 300,000 concurrent players for the first time.^[27]

14. 2025Ecosystem shifts

    Rockstar released GTA V Enhanced for PC in March 2025, while FiveM continued to run on the legacy PC build with Enhanced support in development. In April 2025 the Overextended team archived its popular ox resources, and the CommunityOx group took over maintained forks. Element Club subscriptions moved from Patreon to Cfx's own Portal.^{[28][29][30][31][32]}

15. 2026Rival platforms shut down

    Take-Two sent cease-and-desist letters to rival GTA V multiplayer platforms. alt:V announced a shutdown in early 2026, and RAGE:MP announced a phased shutdown, saying Rockstar and Take-Two had told it FiveM is the only authorised GTA V multiplayer modding platform.^[33][34][35]

16. 2026-09nopixel V and new Rockstar mod guidelines

    On 1 September 2026 Rockstar announced nopixel V, an officially backed NoPixel server whose closed beta was reached through the Rockstar Games Launcher from 8 September. On 10 September Rockstar published consolidated Mod Guidelines limiting multiplayer mods to its licensed Creator Platform and banning commercial activity outside it; the Creator Platform License Agreement was updated the same day.^{[36][37][38][39][40]}

Rockstar's changing stance

Rockstar's relationship with the RP scene shows the biggest shift in the story:

• 2015-08: Rockstar banned three people linked to FiveM from Social Club, calling it an unauthorised alternate multiplayer service with code that could facilitate piracy. FiveM's team said its Social Club check was meant to block pirated copies.^[4][22]
• 2015-11: FiveM's lead developer said private investigators claiming to represent Take-Two came to his home to press him to stop the project. This was reported by PC Gamer and GameSpot as the modder's claim.^[5][6]
• 2022-11: Rockstar published a support article on RP servers. It said Rockstar supports reasonable fan creativity, and it listed Take-Two's enforcement priorities: misuse of Rockstar IP, importing other brands or IP, and commercial exploitation such as loot boxes, virtual-currency sales, corporate sponsorships and crypto/NFTs.^[19][20]
• 2023-08-11: Rockstar announced that Cfx.re had joined the company and said its policy on mods had been expanded to officially include roleplay community creations. Rockstar's support pages now treat Cfx.re-run servers as an authorised way to play GTA V multiplayer and warn that unauthorised server software risks legal action.^[21][41][42]
• 2023-09: A Rockstar-issued Platform License Agreement for FiveM/RedM followed. Sportskeeda reported that it led servers to remove real-world vehicle brands and imported maps.^[26][25]
• 2026: Take-Two sent cease-and-desist letters to rival GTA V multiplayer platforms. RAGE:MP announced a shutdown, citing being told FiveM was the only authorised platform, and alt:V also closed.^[33][34][35]
• 2026-09-01: Rockstar announced nopixel V, a NoPixel server it officially supports, distributed through the Rockstar Games Launcher in closed beta from 8 September 2026.^[36][37]
• 2026-09-10: Rockstar published consolidated Mod Guidelines for its games. They allow multiplayer mods only on the licensed Creator Platform (Cfx.re) or separately licensed projects, keep mods non-commercial outside that platform, and ban story or mission expansions, cross-game asset ports, gambling mechanics, crypto/NFTs, and roleplay depicting real-world armed organisations. Press widely read the timing as preparation for GTA VI, though the page itself covers Rockstar's games in general.^{[38][39][40][43]}

What comes next

The next chapter depends on GTA 6 reaching PC and on Rockstar's plans for its Creator Platform. Neither has been announced. We track both on the server-readiness tracker.

Sources

1. Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas (Multi Theft Auto) official
2. Servers - San Andreas Multiplayer (sa-mp.mp)
3. CitizenMP:IV (GTAMods Wiki)
4. Rockstar bans creators of FiveM multiplayer mod, claims it can "facilitate piracy" (PCGamesN, 2015-08)
5. Take-Two reportedly sent private investigators to modder's home (PC Gamer, 2015-11)
6. GTA 5 Modder Claims Private Investigators Visited His Home (GameSpot, 2015-11)
7. Eclipse Roleplay (Eclipse RP) official
8. NoPixel: The Most Famous GTA RP Server, Explained (GTA-Zone (fan site))
9. ESX Legacy Documentation (ESX Framework) official
10. Grand Theft Auto V Role-Playing Has Taken Over Twitch (Kotaku, 2019-04)
11. GTA V soars 500% on Twitch thanks to the RP mod, NoPixel, and Summit1g (PCGamesN, 2019-04)
12. The Metamorphosis of GTA V Online (on Twitch) (Gamesight)
13. Announcing RedM for Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC (Cfx.re/FiveM (X/Twitter), 2019-10) official
14. RedM - the RDR 2 multiplayer modification (Cfx.re (redm.net)) official
15. Tebex announces partnership with FiveM (Tebex (X/Twitter), 2020-03-27) official
16. Announcing Tebex Partnership - Server Monetization / Commerce '2.0' (Cfx.re Community forum, 2020) official
17. citizenfx/txAdmin README (GitHub (citizenfx)) official
18. 250,000 concurrent players on the Cfx.re platform (Cfx.re/FiveM (X/Twitter), 2021-04) official
19. Roleplay (RP) Servers (Rockstar Games Customer Support) official
20. GTA roleplay servers can't include crypto, loot boxes, or NFTs (PCGamesN, 2022-11)
21. Roleplay Community Update (Rockstar Games Newswire, 2023-08-11) official
22. Rockstar buys the makers of the GTA Online FiveM mod it banned 8 years ago (PC Gamer, 2023-08)
23. Rockstar has acquired a major modding community ahead of GTA 6 (TechRadar, 2023-08)
24. GTA and RDR2's biggest roleplay communities have joined Rockstar Games (PCGamesN, 2023-08)
25. GTA 5 RP FiveM servers ban real-world cars and map imports following their acquisition by Rockstar (Sportskeeda, 2023-09)
26. Rockstar Games Creator Platform License Agreement (Cfx Support) official
27. Community Pulse - January 2024 (Cfx.re Community forum, 2024-01-29) official
28. Free Upgrade for Grand Theft Auto V on PC Coming March 4 (Rockstar Games Newswire, 2025) official
29. FiveM For GTA V Enhanced Gets Development Update (RockstarINTEL)
30. overextended/oxmysql (GitHub (Overextended)) official
31. Community Ox (GitHub (CommunityOx)) official
32. End of support for Element Club subscription support through Patreon (Cfx Support) official
33. GTA 5 RP platform RageMP to close after Take-Two crackdown (Dexerto, 2026)
34. Take-Two forces shutdown of Grand Theft Auto multiplayer modding platform Rage:MP (PC Gamer, 2026)
35. alt:V Shuts Down 2026: Impact on FiveM & Migration Guide (FiveMX (community site), 2026)
36. Introducing nopixel V (Rockstar Games Newswire, 2026-09-01) official
37. Rockstar partners with NoPixel to launch GTA V roleplay on official PC Launcher (Notebookcheck, 2026-09)
38. Mod Guidelines (Rockstar Games, 2026-09-10) official
39. Creator Platform License Agreement (Cfx.re / Rockstar Games (fivem.net), 2026-09-10) official
40. Ahead of GTA 6, Rockstar releases modding guidelines that axe new missions, maps, ports, and more (GamesRadar+, 2026-09)
41. Support for Rockstar Games authorized roleplay and community-created servers (Rockstar Games Customer Support) official
42. I found an unofficial GTA multiplayer server. Will I get in trouble for playing on or hosting one of these servers? (Rockstar Games Customer Support) official
43. Rockstar Updates Mod Guidelines Ahead of GTA 6 Release (Insider Gaming, 2026-09)

We summarise facts in our own words and link every source. Short quotes are credited.