Activision attempted to put an end to cheating in its Call of Duty games with last year’s release of Ricochet, its new kernel anti-cheat system, and now, it’s taking legal action against one of the biggest cheat distributors out there.
First reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Activison filed a lawsuit against EngineOwning, a Germany-based website “engaged in the development, sale, distribution, marketing, and exploitation of a portfolio of malicious cheats and hacks for popular online multiplayer games, most prominently the [Call of Duty] games.”
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The suit was officially filed yesterday, January 4, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. It specifically targets “trafficking in circumvention devices” – presumably the circumvention of Ricochet – as well as “intentional interference with contractual relations and unfair competition.”
Cheats distributed by EngineOwning include auto-fire, auto-aim, location reveal cheats, and more, and can cost players anywhere from roughly $5 for a few days of use to nearly $15 for three months of service. Activision says these cheats and the others distributed by the website have caused it to “suffer massive and irreparable damage to its goodwill and reputation, and to lose substantial revenue.” As a result, the company seeks “exemplary and punitive damages,” as noted by GamesIndustry.biz.
We’ll update this story as more is revealed through court proceedings.
[Source: GamesIndustry.biz]
