Epic Games Settles Lawsuit With Teenage Fortnite Player
Epic Games' massive hit Fortnite continues to be a giant in the battle royale scene, but back in 2017 when the game was just finding its footing, that success was not guaranteed. It was also back in 2017 that Epic Games filed a lawsuit against a teenager who was actively marketing Fortnite hacks via their YouTube channel. Now, after over 3 years, the case has reached its conclusion.
Cheating in video games, particularly in the online sphere, is a difficult problem for developers to combat. Building an effective anti-cheat should deter most would-be cheaters from ruining the playing experience for others, but it is not always that simple. For games that have massive player bases, those who are developing the cheats will keep trying to circumvent any deterrents put in place by a developer in order to get cheats out there and make money off of them. Call of Duty: Warzone has been hammered by cheaters, although it seems that developer Raven Software is starting to take the issue more seriously by issuing ban waves against cheaters.
The 2017 case against "C.R." over advertising cheats for Fortnite has reached its conclusion by way of an undisclosed settlement after a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal was filed. The initial lawsuit alleged that C.R. was actively advertising Fortnite hacks, and continued to create new accounts after being banned by Epic on several occasions. The claims in the lawsuit will be dismissed pending the Court's approval of the settlement agreement. It is pretty common for the game developer to win or reach a settlement in cases like this, Pokemon GO developer Niantic winning a lawsuit against cheaters being a recent example.
Litigation against cheat providers is difficult, but this lawsuit is unusual as it targeted a YouTuber instead of the company behind the cheating software. In the court documents, the defendant's mother claims that Epic was "using a 14-year-old child as a scapegoat." When an individual comes up against a massive company, it is harder for the individual to win the case, as the legal team of the company often is able to win out due to having deeper resources. A number of people have sued Epic games over dance emotes in Fortnite, and none have been successful.
Epic may be done with this particular lawsuit, but the company is still mired in a case against Apple, after Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store last year. That case is set to begin in May with depositions being heard now. The legal team at Epic Games is certainly earning their fees at the moment.
Fortnite is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Court Listener
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