Warzone cheat sellers to pay $3 million in damages to Activision
As Activision clamp down on Call of Duty cheat sellers, a judge has found two developers of one of Warzone’s most infamous providers liable to pay $3 million in damages.
With Modern Warfare 2019 and Warzone bringing PC and console players together for the first time, the free-to-play battle royale quickly became infested with cheaters. It took several months for Activision to combat the issue, releasing their very own anti-cheat and bringing legal action to cheat sellers.
Back in January 2022, Activision filed a lawsuit against ‘EngineOwning,’ one of the most prolific Warzone cheat sellers, asking to receive all of their profits and claiming that “high profile” streamers are hacking.
Despite legal proceeding being underway and RICOCHET combating the problem, both Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 have still seen cheaters ruin matches.
In an update on February 13, 2023, a judge ruled that two developers behind EngineOwning are liable to pay $3 million in damages to Activision.
As reported by Axios, the two defendants, Manuel Santiago and Ignacio Gayduchenko, will have to pay $1 million and $2 million to Activision, respectively.
The judge ruled that the defendants must immediately stop developing, selling, and advertising the cheat software that’s “designed to exploit or enable members of the public to exploit, cheat, manipulate, gain unfair advantages.”
These terms apply to all Activision Blizzard games such as Warzone 2, Modern Warfare 2, Warzone Caldera, Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft, and Diablo.
How much of an effect this will have on hacking in Call of Duty remains to be seen, as only recently, players have been complaining that Modern Warfare 2 Season 2’s Ranked Play mode has a major cheating problem.
Then, Warzone 2 will receive its own Ranked mode in the next few months where its free-to-play nature could amplify the problem.
Image Credit: Activision