As mentioned in other news posts and on our Twitter, Rockstar is bringing down the ban hammer onto hackers in Red Dead Redemption. Those who have hacked and cracked their way to the top will soon be exiled. The hammer comes down starting on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010.

However not everyone should be concerned. People that gained tons of XP by using game exploits (later patched) will not have to fear. That is on Rockstar's side as coding issues. Some more points to know about:

• Banned hackers will also be removed from the leaderboards.
  
• To be spared, any hacked saves that you have will need to be deleted – single player as well as multiplayer. You should be aware that everything is wiped when deleting saves. These are the only exceptions:
  
  • Players would keep any Achievements/Trophies they had already earned.
  • All preorder items tied to their accounts would be unlocked for them upon signing in and creating a new save while connected to Xbox LIVE or PlayStation Network
  • Any cheats earned through Social Club would be unlocked for them upon signing in and creating a new save while connected to Xbox LIVE or PlayStation Network
• After deleting your hacked game save(s), you will then need to go online with Red Dead Redemption (prior to August 24th) for it to register that you're now playing clean. For single-player saves, you will need to re-play the game while connected until you gain access to the safehouse at MacFarlane's ranch. For multiplayer saves, you will need to play one full game online or do one Gang Hideout.

More from Rockstar...

"Next week, starting on Tuesday, August 24th – we will be swiftly and indefinitely banishing from the world of Red Dead Redemption multiplayer all Gamertags and PSN IDs we’ve detected with hacked game saves. Such cheating is a clear violation of our code of conduct, and punishable at our sole discretion.

If you are one of these people, we are giving you this last chance for REDEMPTION to restore your HONOR: you have one week from today to delete your hacked game save to be spared the hammer’s swift justice on the 24th.

Also – we’d like to make clear that the comments area is not the place to air out your grievances with this or to state your excuse (“Um, my cousin was playing on my 360 for a few days – I think he did it!” etc) – all such comments here and in other posts will be deleted, subject to our terms of service. Please instead direct any and all correspondence on this subject to banhammer@rockstargames.com and we will have a look there.

Thank you all
Rockstar Games"

Let's hope this all makes Red Dead Redemption a better place for all! Discuss in the comments section below or in our forums!