Activision takes aim with a lawsuit aimed at cheat provider

Los Angeles, California - Activision, the game publisher behind the heavily-hacked online game Call of Duty: Warzone, has finally stopped playing nice with hackers and is taking aim at the biggest cheat provider on the web.

Activision is aiming a weighty lawsuit right at the biggest cheat provider.
Activision is aiming a weighty lawsuit right at the biggest cheat provider.  © Collage: IMAGO / Panthermedia, Imagebroker

Activision filed a lawsuit on January 4 with the Central District Court of California, claiming that EngineOwning (EO), a German-based cheat software website, has enabled tens of thousands of players "to gain unfair competitive advantages (i.e. to cheat) in COD games."

The lawsuit claims that EO violated a section of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) by selling technology that gets around anti-cheat measures in Activision's games.

In addition, the lawsuit accuses the cheat service of knowingly making tens of thousands of gamers breach their Terms of Use agreements, since those users signed a contract when they bought an Activision game saying they wouldn't cheat or try to spoof hacking defenses like the new Ricochet anti-cheat for COD: Warzone and COD: Vanguard.

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Activision wants EngineOwning to pay a $2,500 fine for every time the company sold a hacking product, which would amount to a hefty sum, and pony up the profits from selling Call of Duty cheats.

Hacking as a service

Hacks are game-breaking, and Activision wants to put a stop to them.
Hacks are game-breaking, and Activision wants to put a stop to them.  © Collage: Activision/Sledgehammer, IMAGO / Shotshop

EngineOwning's cheat service comes in packages ranging from $4 for three days up to about $30 for 90 days.

The hacks run the gamut from aimbots that will automatically fire at opponents without you having to aim, triggerbots that automatically fire without you having to, and wallhacks, which let you see outlines of opponents players through solid objects like walls.

The cheat website also boasts a list of "undetected" services, meaning the games' anti-cheat software can't block or even recognize them in high-profile games in the Call of Duty franchise or other online titles, like Halo: Infinite.

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Even if players do get hit with an account ban that targets their hardware, preventing them from playing a game with the same PC, EngineOwning offers a software that lets players get around that hardware ban.

Shutting down EngineOwning would be a huge step towards getting rid of the rampant cheating problem in online gaming.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Panthermedia, Imagebroker

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