Rules are meant to be broken; video games are no exception. Cheating has a long and storied history in video games, from the infamous Konami code to playing as Bill Clinton in NBA Jam. But that was back when gaming meant sitting huddled around a TV in the basement with your friends. Now, players log into online gaming platforms like Xbox Live to compete with 46 million other gamers. The adage “you’re only cheating yourself” doesn’t ring true when gamers take on millions of other people, and even the video game development companies themselves.
In 2011, the online gaming industry made $19 billion, not only from the sale of the original software, but also from countless microtransactions that happen during game play. Video game expert Scott Steinberg says that a relatively small group of cheaters can chase legitimate players (and their money) away from online gaming. “It’s entirely possible to break not only the in-game economy, but the actual economics around the game.” To avoid this, Steinberg says game developers spend vast amounts of time and money policing their game servers trying to find and ban cheaters.
That’s cheating! Video-game companies suing crooked players The Associated Press. The Epic Games spokesman did not answer when asked whether the company knew the player it sued was a minor. Not if you own it, if you are hacking for offline cheats, or for self learning, it depends on why your hacking, hacking a game to get it free is illegal. Do not let anyone else have the game you hacked. ‘Hacking’ means ‘using a product for a purpose for which it was not intended’ 2.2K views.
According to Mia Consalvo, author of the book Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames, cheating for real world profit has been going on for almost two decades, and has cost the video game industry millions of dollars. One of the more common forms of cheating involves the use of “bots,” which are small pieces of code designed to automate certain game processes and gather materials valuable in a particular game. “Instead of selling these things in the game, they’d list them on eBay, and make real money that way.” Consalvo adds.
In 2009, a player named Michael Donnelly developed a particularly effective bot called a “glider” to be used in the popular online game World of Warcraft, and began selling it to gamers through his company, MDY Industries LLC. The District Court of Arizona found Donnelly guilty of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, shutting down the operation and setting the legal precedent that cheating by rewriting or overriding the code of online games isn’t just unscrupulous — it’s illegal.
As the online gaming market expands through cell phone gaming, PC gaming and a strengthening of console games’ online offerings, space for cheaters to operate will only continue to grow. Unlike the video games being fought over, the struggle between the cheaters and game developers won’t be won with strategy and skill, it will be won with money.
The developers of the game Fortnite filed a lawsuit against a 14-year-old who allegedly used cheating software to get a competitive edge in multiplayer. His mother is fighting back.
Epic Games took cheating punishment a step further than usual in October when it not only banned two Fortnite Battle Royale players for cheating but decided to sue them. Now, a month later, the mother of one of the alleged cheaters has responded and is calling the entire lawsuit into question, admonishing Epic for publicly naming her son, who is a minor.
SEE ALSO: The most popular PC game bans thousands of cheaters every day
In a letter to the judge of the case obtained by Torrent Freak, the mother states that Epic has not shown proof that her son modified the game as the company stated in its suit, that she never gave him the required parental consent to play, and that the company never actually suffered mass profit loss because the game is free to play.
The mother also alleges Epic is 'using a 14-year-old child as a scape goat to make an example of him... Instead of Epic Games, Inc. suing the websites providing the cheat codes, they are going after the individuals using these codes.'
Epic explained the reasoning behind the lawsuit against the minor in a statement received via email: 'This particular lawsuit arose as a result of the defendant filing a DMCA counterclaim to a takedown notice on a YouTube video that exposed and promoted Fortnite Battle Royale cheats and exploits. Under these circumstances, the law requires that we file suit or drop the claim.'
Essentially, the young offender was live streaming himself playing Fortnite Battle Royale while using cheats he downloaded online, and Epic caught him after he challenged YouTube taking down one of his videos. Epic elaborated in its statement that it doesn't condone cheating no matter the age of the offender.
'Epic is not okay with ongoing cheating or copyright infringement from anyone at any age,' the company stated. 'As stated previously, we take cheating seriously, and we’ll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players.'
Although Epic was just pursuing what it legally thought was right to do to protect its game, the company made the mistake of publicly naming the 14-year-old cheater, which is not legal according to Delaware state law.
'Epic Games, Inc. has released the defendants name publicly, therefore allowing news articles and different online publications to obtain his name and in turn release additional information,' the mother said in her letter. 'Referencing State of Delaware House Bill No. 64 it is illegal to release underage individuals' personal information by any agencies. Epic Games Inc. is in complete violation of this.'
Can Cheating On Video Games Get You Sued Anything
It is possible that Epic did not know the age of the minor before they named him, but Epic did not address that question when asked.
Can Cheating On Video Games Get You Sued Without
The alleged cheater's mother added that Epic is also requesting financial gain her son made from these cheats, although she says her son has made no money from live streaming.