Activision’s lawsuit against prominent FPS cheat providers EngineOwning has resulted in a $14 million fine two years after the publisher began pursuing legal action.
Another widely-utilized cheat provider has been snuffed out. EngineOwning is no more, with the German-based company owing Activision $14,465,600 in statutory damages, along with an extra $292,912 in attorney fees.
This result came by way of a May 20 hearing as Activision’s motion was granted in the United States District Court. The lawsuit was initially filed on January 4, 2022, before an amendment on September 16, 2022. Two years later, the publishing giant has won its case.
Not only does the crew behind the cheating operation owe millions in damages, but Activision is also entitled to seize full control of the “illicit enterprise,” including the company’s domain name.
BREAKING: Activision has been granted default judgement in its court case against cheat provider EngineOwning. Judge ruled EngineOwning owes Activision $14.45M in damages and $292,900 in legal fees. Judge ruled EngineOwning website domain must be transferred to Activision. pic.twitter.com/oWTbYygiZe
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) May 29, 2024
EngineOwning was among the most prominent cheat-providing services in recent years, with users able to purchase software to cheat in a wide range of CoD games including Warzone, not to mention other titles like Halo Infinite, and had even completed work on an Overwatch 2 cheat program.
Although the CoD publisher implemented its own anti-cheat software (RICOCHET) at the tail end of 2021, EngineOwning, among others, continues to find workarounds, allowing thousands of pesky players to cheat their way to the top. As a result, Activision pursued legal action in early 2022, claiming the cheat providers had caused “millions of dollars” in damages.
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Not only were regular players exposed as part of the lawsuit, but Activision also alleged a number of ‘high-profile’ content creators had also been uncovered as having used the cheating software.
Now, with the operation at its end, those responsible for all aspects of the EngineOwning operation were named in the lawsuit and have to answer for over $14 million in damages.
“Ordinarily, such a large sum of money at stake would weigh in favor of Defendants,” the court proceeding outlined. “But the Court has’ wide discretion in determining the amount of statutory damages to be awarded.
“Here, the Court deems the amount of requested damages reasonable, given that Plaintiff alleges that Defendants have acted willfully.”