Fuck Rockstar. I changed my email accounts a few years ago but forgot to change Rockstar first. This wasn’t a problem. Now, after buying GTA V on Xbox and Steam and sinking a lot of time into it over two accounts, they added some mandatory launcher on Steam that forces you to login to their Social Club. Mandatory launcher calls an account that I can’t unlink, triggers mandatory 2FA to an email that doesn’t exist. They refuse to help despite my willingly handing over a lot of private information - their support system is as good as fake. The end result is I have sank >£100 in buying their games and they ensure that not only do I not get to continue my account on GTA V, but I have been permanently locked out and actually impossible to play any Rockstar Social - walled game on Steam.
Partial ‘correspondence’ of my third attempt to get help from them. Twice they ignored the support subject.
Judging by other complaints online this exact issue has persisted and screwed over players since the creation of GTA V, so at least 12 years.
I have the same issue with Activision, and here’s the kicker. They’re exactly the same blueprint. Same support. Same result. Same fake-ass Western names on their signature.
I feel like Rockstar needs to be continuously pressured, injustices talked about, just in case they give.
Just don’t give corps like Rockstar money.
Additional:
(from Schwaggaccino • 2y ago • Reddit)
I emailed Rockstar and started a request ticket and they want me to log in to get me to reset my 2FA which is preventing me from logging in.
THIS IS PEAK CLOWN WORLD I CAN’T BELIEVE SOMEONE ACTUALLY GOT PAID TO IMPLEMENT THIS JOKE OF A SYSTEM
Edit: For the time being it seems they have disabled all support as none of my support requests are going through, even with omitting data and using VPN multiple times… I’ve had seven unsuccessful tickets and was just brainstorming how to automate the requests.
Final Edit: Thanks for your responses everyone, looks like legal is the only route. After 24h my support requests are still being auto blocked (not submitting as there’s no delay before response), and I am skeptical they switched off support for that long, even if it is fake, so they just blacklisted my details I think.
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Yeah this is the cancer that is email 2FA.
Unfortunately email is the only way they have to verify your identity. No email, no account. But this is very much not exclusive to Rockstar.
I changed my email a couple of years ago and it’s absolutely astonishing how many companies are completely unequipped to deal with someone changing or deleting their email account.
Unfortunately email is the only way they have to verify your identity. No email, no account.
That isn’t really true, I’ve restored access to multiple game accounts before in situations where I lost access to my email, it mostly involved providing information about the account that only the person using it would know, like the names of characters on it and some other stuff. If a company can’t handle this it’s because they don’t want to pay for competent customer support workers and just rely entirely on lazily coded automated systems.
Yes, things like original email and Nickname are some of those questions because after they change the public might have no way of figuring it out. Notice the support tech asked for those informations and when provided with it he said that he couldn’t verify ownership, this means OP reported wrong information for the identifying questions.
I’m not saying the service is great, asking him to access an email he claims to have lost access is dumb, but everything after that the tech support person did his best, and I don’t think he should have disabled 2FA, since it could be a social engineering attack.
Oh, I see, didn’t read the second image at first
Yes, it is the lazy way to secure accounts. No defense there.
Time to sail the high seas.
thanks for the tip, but I don’t buy any games I don’t have to.
Yep. I have the exact same problem with EA-Connect. My account is just gone because EA doesn’t offer any support.
First of all, I agree entirely. Now: Pounds, so you’re in the UK. Have a read about your options with the ombudsman service: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/how-to-use-an-ombudsman-in-england/
the Financial Ombudsman Service sorts out problems with banks, insurance, PPI, loans, mortgages, pensions and deals with other money and financial complaints - read our advice about getting your money back if you paid by card or PayPal
If nothing else you’re putting them on blast with the government, and that contributes to the paper trail for eventual action. In the meantime it might get your complaint resolved. Did you try tweeting at their official account too? Sometimes that can help get things moving.
Thank you! I didn’t think an ombudsman would be at all helpful against a game company, I should reconsider aha. No Twitter account but that’s good advice!
It’s not a game company. It’s a company period. It sold you something that you’re not able to use.
Through “no fault” of the company and years after the purchase.
Its not the companies fault he couldnt be assed to :
- Diversify his email addresses in the 1st place
- Update his email address.
When you put all your eggs in one basket, you’ve really got no one else to blame when you then decide to throw the basket away.
Still paid them money and they’re not allowing him to use what he bought.
But they are also required to make sure noone else gets access to the account, and so it’s OPs job to prove ownership of the account - which he can’t, or else the situation would have been resolved after Rockstar supports questions.
No. There are other ways to prove ownership. They’re just being stubborn and not flexible.
The OP was dumb, they’re being assholes.
Yes but the financial ombudsman regulates financial services.
You’re right, this is more of an issue with your purchase not being complete. I think your legal remedies would either be through your card provider (probably too late) or civil action directly to Rockstar.
Looking at the conversation, you do sound like a hackerkid™ trying to social engineer itself into someones rockstar account
You should give them the info they ask for
Also, the poor indian dude answering you probably doesn’t have access to you crew’s name in gtav or anything like that.God, can these companies fuck off with their third party launchers? Its why I don’t buy any game off Steam which has that warning, not worth the hassle
I have the same issue and had the same result with Rockstar. Ubisoft managed to change my email though after providing proof of purchase. Fuck Rockstar, I’m sailing the seas with their games.
I had same issue trying to play that after a long time and after sending a screenshot of my steam acct logged in on a certain page they gave me a link to reset my info and I now have access again. What a pain in the ass it was though
Somehow I had 3 separate Ubisoft accounts with differing games on them. After a short back-and-forth proving I was the account(s) owner, they actually did what I asked. They combined all 3 accounts into one and combined my games catalog.
The corporation sucks ass, but their support did me a solid.
I know this is probably not helping but ideally you’d want to go through this process
If this process is not working people might want to report on it.
I advise you to try out GOG and itch.io as they sell games wbthout DRM
Thanks, yes that’s good advice. I’ve got an account with GOG and use their launcher
Although l think it sacrifices achievement progress, you may consider Heroic Games Launcher instead, which is open-source.
Did you try typing goru@n.ga as your email address?
IRL you don’t need an email account to do road violence. Simulator is worse than life. Matrix, confirmed.
?
IIRC goruanga was the cheat code in gta. also it came up when you got all the hare krishnas in one and go and gave 1million points.
that was gouranga
Why don’t you request a refund from Steam? If the game doesn’t work because they changed it then I want my money back.
I couldn’t play red dead 2 because of some old email I didn’t recognize was associated with my rockstar social account that was linked to my steam account where I bought the game. I didn’t even give a shit about cloud or online play. I just wanted to do the game all alone but it wouldn’t let me without that email. It was the dumbest shit ever and i eventually just got a refund. They definitely use people over seas for support and it takes them forever to reply.
Mandatory launchers can fuck right off. I was lucky enough to get Rockstar support to accept my Steam purchases but even then I had to try twice because the first time they pretty much blew me off.
I also had a similar issue with Ubisoft. There it was actually easier to restore my old email than get Ubisoft support to cooperate.
In short, fuck forced launchers and anyone who says “it’s just another account”. Yeah, it is at the moment but who knows 10 years from now. You’ll be locked out of your games because some fuckery happens and support won’t do shit.
Mandatory launchers can fuck right off.
… Iike Steam’s? 😛
I am aware of this list. Try comparing it to itch.io and GOG, though.
Think the complaint is where a launcher is required on top of a launcher. Like if you buy Cyberpunk 2077 from Steam, GOG, or Epic it doesn’t required another launcher on top of the launcher you bought it from.
Good thing is that it does seem like majority of games don’t do that. Even EA is moving away from it.
That’s not the best example, because CP2077 has its own launcher (at least the steam one)
–launcher-skip
And I’m talking about launcher the type you have to log in again.
Example being Ubisoft games where you get it from Steam or Epic and then have to install UPlay and then log into UPlay.
I’ll even use Finals as an example which isn’t DRM free. You install on Steam and go on playing with no additional login into a secondary launcher. Or you install from Gamepass with no additional login for a secondary launcher.
You know what I meant. If I buy a game on one launcher it shouldn’t open another launcher that then launches the game. The other launcher is completely unnecessary but it is mandatory to launch the game, hence mandatory launcher.
Edit: just to make it clear, if I make another account on another store that IMO is fine. I don’t have a problem with having steam, gog and itch accounts. But when I buy a game on one storefront/launcher and then I have to make an account on another storefront/launcher to play the game I already bought, that’s bullshit. In OPs case he was forced to make an account for a game he bought elsewhere and is now being punished because the company is stupid.
Oops, I misunderstood and agree; I didn’t realize a second launcher was the issue here. That is messed up.
Exact same for me but an Ubisoft game linking my Steam account to a long gone email address of a long gone Ubisoft account.
Absolutely hopeless customer support saying there is no possible way for them to help me.
Good thing I wasn’t planning on buying any Ubisoft game ever again, problem pretty much sorted itself out.
