This is your friendly reminder that Rockstar will no longer offer its character transfer system from the 6th of March onwards for GTA Online players. While this primarily affects old-gen players who haven't been able to play the latest DLC, current-gen players won't be able to transfer to PC either.

The decision comes after transfer hacking became more and more common. This is when players have their account modded on an old-gen console with hacked cash hacked RP and other privileges, and then transfer said character to either the PS4 or Xbox One. This way, hacks have filtered into those platforms even though they have yet to be cracked. Since hacking can be done on the PC anyway, it isn't affected by transfer - and yet transfers from current-gen consoles to PC are also getting the axe, though we don't know why.

Basically, the transfer hacking method manages to trick the anti-cheat watchdog, which would be tipped off with direct attempts at hacking on an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, resulting in the console to be locked down. The anti-cheat system is usually triggered when sudden and unexplainable changes happen to a character's cash. If the player goes from a few bucks to millions in an instant without playing missions (which are hidden stats the game tracks) it's sure that they are hacking.

However when a transferred character "arrives" on the new platform, they already own the modded money, so there is no sudden change to trigger the anti-cheat. The system also tracks altered game files, but since no third party alterations took place, this doesn't trigger it either.

In order to ease players into the new generation or PC, Rockstar is hosting a sale on the Great White Shark Card bundle to give newly transferred players some starting capital to dive into the new content they missed out on.

If you order a physical copy today, it won't arrive in time, but digital copies are instantly accessible so there is still a chance to preserve your characters and progress for the future. If you've invested hundreds of hours and built up a high-rank character with a ton of cash this will definitely be worth your while. The previous gen consoles are rife with hackers, and things will likely even be worse when the transfers end. Hurry up, time is running short!