Bungie, the video game developer behind Destiny 2 and Halo 3, has reportedly won a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against Phoenix Digital, also known as Aimjunkies. Bungie will receive $63,210 in damages, as the case solely concerns the revenue from the cheats.
Even though it is not illegal to cheat in games, Bungie was able to sue the creators of the cheats because reverse engineering the game-specifically Destiny 2-to discover those cheats was against the company's copyright.
According to sources, Aimjunkies also claimed that Bungie had violated its copyright by breaking into one of its workers' PCs. Bungie countered that this was simply a routine procedure for identifying cheaters and was protected by the EULA for the game. The judge dismissed Aimjunkies' argument.
Although $63,210 is not exactly a big sum of money for Bungie, it does establish a precedent that allows game firms to pursue cheaters in the future legally. Phoenix Digital and AimJunkies have said that they will appeal the ruling.
When the jury returned its decision on the case on May 25, it was likely the first game-cheating case to be decided by a jury in the US. With the verdict, Bungie is leading the charge to punish those who create cheats.
In recent years, several significant cheat sites have been closed, partly due to legal actions taken by Activision Blizzard, Bungie, Riot, and Epic Games.
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Videogame Cheating Cases
Most notably, in February 2023, two members of the infamous Call of Duty cheat creation organization EngineOwning were fined a significant amount for creating exploits that circumvent the anti-cheat engine utilized in Activision Blizzard games like Modern Warfare 2.
At the time, players were lamenting that hackers were abusing Modern Warfare 2's built-in anti-cheat system, RICOCHET, by using illicit third-party software to get around the game's Ranked Play feature.
The judge decided in Activision's favor, fining two EngineOwning-employed cheat developers a hefty sum. According to early reports, Activision had sued EngineOwning, alleging that the well-known video game publisher had lost millions of dollars due to the latter's destructive cheats and hacks. After the case was contested in court for some time, the judge decided to render a just verdict.
The ruling states that Ignacio Gayduchenko and Manuel Santiago must pay Activision a total of $3 million in fines for their work on hacks and cheats using EngineOwning.
Additionally, those responsible have been permanently banned from creating any software in the future that could be used to circumvent any game's end-user license agreements or terms of service.
Cheat Developers' Resiliency
Even with sophisticated and constantly evolving anti-cheat programs, cheat creators continue to astound publishers with their creative new tools and methods. Because of this, many publishing houses are now looking for legal support to end the practice.
The significant and expensive ruling in Activision's lawsuit against EngineOwning and several other companies that commit malpractice by giving players an illegal way out to win competitive games, like Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, will have far-reaching effects on these businesses.
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