YouTube personality Brandon Lucas (aka “Golden Modz”) and his frequent partner Colton Conter (“Excentric”) are the first targets of a new lawsuit from Epic Games targeting those distributing Fortnite cheats. According to the suit, the two conspired to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, breached contract and engaged in “tortious interference” by posting videos of Lucas’ Fortnite cheating. They then profited from their enterprise by selling Fortnite cheats via his website.
As part of the ongoing battle against Fortnite cheating, which not only compromises the integrity and profitability of the game, but also exposes players to malware and other scams, Epic has also filed takedown requests with YouTube to remove several videos showing cheats from the video service.
Depending on how the suit plays out, things could go very poorly for the defendants Lucas and Conter. Epic is seeking disgorgment of profits earned from the cheats, which means the defendants would have to pay back any earnings from the enterprise directly to Epic. This is in addition to paying damages and court costs.
The aim of these kinds of lawsuits, like those carried out by Blizzard aimed at botting software, are meant to make an example of cheaters and to discourage the future cheaters from even trying it in multiplayer games.
