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GamesRadar
GamesRadar
Technology
Austin Wood

Ex MMO dev allegedly hacked 68 players for in-game gold worth over $700,000 and sold it for Bitcoin, UK court finds the gold legally counts as "property" and can be stolen

Screenshot of RuneScape character in pirate hat and eyepatch.

A new judgment from the UK Court of Appeal finds that gold in MMOs can be treated as "property" and legally subjected to criminal theft, continuing a case involving a game developer who allegedly stole mountains of gold by hacking players and then sold that gold for real-world money.

"The game in question is Old School Runescape," begins a January 14, 2026 judgment from Lord Justice Popplewell, because of course it is.

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