A popular Fortnite dataminer has shut down and completely deleted all related social media accounts after receiving a cease and desist letter from Epic Games.
FNBRLeaks, which has been a reliable source of early information on upcoming Fortnite changes and events, has shut down its Twitter, Discord, GitHub, YouTube, and Instagram accounts after Epic’s threat of legal action. On Twitter, the group’s owner – a teenager named Preston – wrote on TwitLonger, “Due to the request of an Epic Games Attorney who i’m not going to disclose, my Twitter, Discord, YouTube, Instagram , and GitHub must be deleted, or else they will take action.”
FNBRLeaks leaking and datamining weren’t what Epic took issue with, however – instead, it was the group’s promotion and sales of mod tools for the game, which violate Epic’s terms of service agreement for Fortnite.
“The owner of this account and others promoted and advertised the sale of game modification tools which violate our terms of service,” wrote an Epic Games staffer in a reply to a post on the Fortnite subreddit. “[T]his is not directly related to data mining or leaking.”
A member of FNBR leaks posted a segment of the cease and desist order they had received from Epic’s attorneys to the group’s Discord server, which Variety obtained and posted.
“Preston’s actions are damaging to the Fortnite community because they have spoiled the game for millions of people who play and/or watch Fortnite, and negatively impact those who work hard to create and update Fortnite,” the letter read. “The fact he is a teenager makes this no less true.”
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While Epic says the move wasn’t made due to datamining or leaking, the letter it sent demands that he immediately stop “data mining by unauthorized means” and leaking information found this way “prior to its intended release.” However, most of the demands made in the letter have to do with the creation and distribution of software – i.e., mod tools – designed to get around Fortnite’s copy protection.
Further, the letter demands the removal of all “Epic-related content” from the FNBRLeaks accounts, not the termination of the accounts themselves.
FNBRLeaks was a reliable source of Fortnite information, and we often cited the group after it discovered something new in the Fortnite client code. Selling hacks is another issue, and it’s gotten people in trouble before.
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