Microtransactions in gaming have become a growing concern among players, especially within mobile or live service games. It seems that the days of purchasing a game once would ensure you would receive the full content have been replaced by purchasing a game, then having to buy other game modes, other cosmetics, other items, to enhance an experience that should have already been full. Now, a particularly frustrated NBA 2K player is taking a lawsuit regarding “microtransaction theft” to the publisher, Take-Two Interactive.
As reported by Axios, the lawsuit was filed by a minor in California, with their mother representing them. The main focus of the suit is on the “Virtual Currency” (VC) that is able to be purchased with real money for in-game rewards, like items or cosmetics. The bigger issue is when the next game in the annual series releases, and the servers no longer support the prior entry, all unspent VC is rendered void and cannot be transferred to the newest game. No refund, no reward, nothing besides starting over from step one in a different game.
The suit states that Take-Two Interactive’s mindset on handling microtransactions is “unfair, illegal and greedy,” and accuses the publisher of violating California’s civil theft statues, claiming “By removing Plaintiff and the Class members’ VC, Defendants took and stole their personal property, or fraudulently appropriated property that had been entrusted to Defendant.”
This isn’t the first time the NBA 2K franchise has found itself in a microtransaction lawsuit recently. In early 2022, Take-Two had another case brought by a minor and her guardian regarding loot boxes. By October 2022, a judge ruled the issue should be solved through arbitration, so it’s not known how the matter ended.
As of now, no further comment on the lawsuit has been made from either Take-Two or its lawyers.