Is Stealing In-Game Gold Theft?

A recent case brought before the United Kingdom Court of Appeals could change how digital in-game currency is defined. Check out the details below. Also, Highguard is off to a pretty rough start, despite being featured at The Game Awards. All this and more. Let’s go!

The case of RuneScape’s gold

Can unauthorized movement of in-game currency be considered theft? According to the United Kingdom Court of Appeal, it is. 

In a recent case, Andrew Lakeman, a former developer working on the game RuneScape allegedly stole 705 billion gold worth about $750,000 from 68 players. Despite not having direct access to these accounts, Lakeman accessed them by "hacking and/or using credentials of members of the account recovery team." He then sold the digital currency online for Bitcoin.

After initially convincing a court that the gold did not meet the definition of what was considered stealable property under the United Kingdom's Theft Act, the appeals court disagreed with the judgement. From their decision:

The two reasons which the Judge gave in his ruling do not, with respect, bear analysis. The first was that “one gold piece is like any other, and their supply is infinite”. This does not, however, distinguish them from many other forms of rivalrous property. One paper clip from a given manufacturer is like any other; and the manufacture and supply of them infinite, in the sense that is not capped at any finite number. Yet each paper clip constitutes property. The same is equally true of gold pieces.

The judgement continues, saying:

[RuneScape’s Gold] are assets which have an ascertainable monetary value and which may be traded for that value both in the game and outside the game. Within the rules of the game they represent money’s worth as the product of purchase of a bond. Outside the game they are regularly traded for money’s worth. They are capable of being subject to dishonest dealing which deprives their possessor of their use and value. It would be surprising and unsatisfactory if such dishonest dealing did not amount to the offence of theft.

The ruling could have major implications for third-party marketplaces that sell digital goods. GamesIndustry.biz has a nice breakdown of the case and the ramifications.

Take the Highguard road

Usually having your trailer shown at The Game Awards generates positive buzz for a game. However, for Highguard, it seems to have had the opposite effect. 

The free multiplayer player vs. player shooter was the first title from Wildlight Entertainment, and created by developers who worked on Titanfall, Call of Duty and Apex Legends. Before it even launched last week, it generated a ton of attention, being the final trailer shown at The Game Awards. Reportedly, show host and organizer Geoff Keighley played the game, liked it and offered them a free slot at his show. However, fans who were hoping for something more in line with their interests to close out the show were disappointed, and the game started to receive a negative buzz. 

When the game actually released last week, it was flooded with poor Steam reviews. Within a few hours, the game was rated Overwhelming Negative with nearly 8,000 players chiming in. Most of these users had spent less than an hour in the game. 

In the days since its initial release, the reviews have improved, with the game now rated as Mixed on Steam. Other developers have come to HighGuard’s defense, calling the mob mentality “downright horrible.”

Have you played Highguard? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Side Quests (more stories worth reading)

❎ Xbox’s hardware revenue fell by 32% year-on-year, with gaming revenue down 9%. 

👎🏻 Ubisoft has proposed cutting 18% of its workforce at its French headquarters as part of its “major reset” plan.

💿 Grand Theft Auto 6 may only release digitally on launch day, with a physical version of the game coming weeks or months later. 

⚾ CM Punk is the WWE 2K26 cover athlete, while Aaron Judge will be featured on the cover of MLB The Show 26.

📆 Respawn announced support for Apex Legends on the original Switch will end Aug. 4, 2026. 

🐕 Nintendo posted a video update for their upcoming game Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. Check out everything they announced. 

🎮 Sony patented a touchscreen PlayStation controller that lets players choose where to put the buttons.

💸 Despite losing $83.6 billion in six years, Meta remains optimistic on virtual reality. 

✊🏾 According to a new study, one-third of video game workers in the U.S. were laid off over the last two years. Not surprisingly, 82% of developers support unionization. 

🔨 A streamer attempting a pacifist run of the game Bully discovered a secret weapon hidden for almost 20 years.

🤖 Google released its latest AI tool Project Genie, which allows users to create "playable worlds" that can include copyrighted material.

📺 The third season of The Last of Us television show on HBO might be its last. 

😢 International developers are skipping this year’s Game Developers Conference because “the U.S. has become increasingly hostile to foreign nationals, regardless of origin.”

♟️ France’s biggest board game award changed their rules for 2026, requiring entries to name the game’s artists on box.

❎ Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live in 2013 for being a registered sex offender. 

New Releases this week:

Check out our article on 10 New Games to Play in February.

2/3: Aces of Thunder (PlayStation and PC)
2/5: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
2/5: Menace (PC)
2/6: Nioh 3 (PlayStation and PC)

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