Epic Games does not take kindly to people who cheat in their massively popular game Fortnite. In a case filed last week, and published on TorrentFreak, Epic Games is suing two well known YouTubers for using, promoting, and selling cheats for their hit game according to the company. The two defendants, Brandon Lucas and Colton Conter, are being accused of copyright infringement, breach of contract, and “unfair and deceptive trade practices and unfair methods of competition” for their actions.
Lucas’s YouTube channel, Golden Modz, and Conter’s channel, Excentric, feature videos of the defendants using cheats and hacks on the PC version of Fortnite. Lucas’s channel specifically contains videos that “demonstrate and promote the hacks he sells, and to direct those who watch the videos to the websites where he sells them.” The cheats and hacks that the two use are stated to be “aimbots” and “ESP” hacks. These types of hacks modify the game and allow the users to “automatically target and kill opponents” and “see what they are not intended to see” respectively. Thus, these modifiers are in violation of the company’s copyright and the game’s End User License Agreement. In restitution, the company asks for “defendants to destroy all copies of infringing videos and the cheats they are using and selling” and to be paid for damages that these violations have caused.
Though Epic Games is unable to comment on ongoing legal cases, the company gave this statement to the BBC below:
When cheaters use aimbots or other cheat technologies to gain an unfair advantage, they ruin games for people who are playing fairly. We take cheating seriously, and we’ll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players
Epic Games is known for its massive distaste towards cheaters. They have gone to great lengths to encourage players not to give out their passwords and to activate two-factor authentication on players’ accounts. Last year, we reported that the company had taken legal action against cheaters in the early days of Fortnite‘s battle royale mode. Then, last week, it was announced that Epic Games had acquired the anti-cheat company Kamu. The company doesn’t want anyone to have an illegal competitive advantage over others. They just want the massively successful Fortnite to be played and enjoyed by everyone.