GTA V is an action-adventure game that rewards gamers for committing virtual crimes. It allows dozens of players to interact simultaneously in "open world" environments, with bank heists and carjackings at the core of its gameplay.

While most video games keep the player busy on a predetermined course of action, open-world games allow greater freedom to explore. And it didn't take long for Hong Kong gamers to begin mimicking the real-life actions of hardcore protesters by throwing petrol bombs, vandalizing train stations and attacking police within the open world of GTA V.

Mainland Chinese gamers were quick to notice, and several of them subsequently took to the Twitter-like social media platform Weibo to call on other players to defeat their Hong Kong rivals.

Other Weibo users responded by posting screenshots of their characters dressed as riot police and wielding guns, with the posts captioned: "Ready!"

Several intense battles played out simultaneously, according to Hong Kong gamer Mickey Chang, who is in his 20s and plays games that are live-streamed on the YouTube channel Minilife HK.

Protester avatars threw petrol bombs at riot police controlled by mainland gamers, who responded with water cannons and tear gas. In the end, the mainlanders emerged victorious as they overwhelmed the Hong Kong protesters through sheer numbers, Chang told CNN Business.

Chang said that he liked to play as a protester because it helped to "raise awareness" overseas about the situation in Hong Kong.

"(GTA) is a fun way of engaging people with different viewpoints to discuss, since you can have up to 30 strangers on a server that may not know much about Hong Kong," he said.

CNN Business has reached out to Rockstar Games for comment about its use by Hong Kong protest supporters and their opposition.