RuneScape gold counts as real stolen property after UK judge rules in $700K theft case

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A British court has decided that the in-game currency of Old School RuneScape can be legally considered property. This ruling came after a former game developer was accused of stealing and selling over $700,000 worth of the game’s coins.

This decision follows a January 14th ruling regarding a former Jagex employee – the company that makes Old School RuneScape. The ex-developer is accused of hacking 68 player accounts, stealing a large amount of in-game gold, and then selling it for Bitcoin outside of the game.

Jagex claimed the stolen in-game gold was worth over $700,000 in real money, citing its value on unofficial trading sites. However, the defense argued that virtual currency isn’t real property under UK law because it has no physical form.

RuneScape gold ruled real property in lawsuit

According to PC Gamer, Lord Justice Popplewell considered whether RuneScape gold could be considered ‘property’ under the 1968 Theft Act. He decided that ‘property’ should be understood in a wide sense and can include items commonly seen as stealable, even if they’re not physical objects.

The court recognized that RuneScape gold is commonly traded both within the game and on external markets, creating opportunities for fraud. Because of this, the court determined that taking a large amount of in-game gold and exchanging it for cryptocurrency could be considered theft.

The court’s decision explained how Old School RuneScape functions, noting that the game’s slow pace of progress makes the items players earn valuable to them, even though these items don’t have any official monetary value outside the game.

Although this recent court decision doesn’t immediately change the outcome of every case involving virtual items, it establishes an important new guideline for how UK courts might handle digital game money when people are buying and selling it for real-world profit.

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2026-01-25 21:48