Blizzard Aims For Clean Headshot Suing Overwatch Cheat Maker For Copyright Infringement
Cheating is rampant in online gaming and a large reason why is the easy accessibility of popular software tools for gaining an unfair advantage. One of them is Watchover Tyrant, a cheat tool for Overwatch that offers several in-game hacks starting at 12.95 euros (around $14.50 in U.S. currency). Not only is Overwatch developer Blizzard aware of the tool, it's suing Watchover Tyrant's maker, Bossland, for copyright infringement.
Overwatch is big success for Blizzard. The new franchise stormed out of the gate and raced to 10 million users in less than month. While the majority of gamers play by the rules, the ones who cheat ruin the experience for everyone else. By using Watchover Tyrant, unscrupulous gamers can do things like spy an enemy player's location on a radar and know their distance.
"Defendant Bossland GmbH ('Bossland') and those working in concert with it have built a profitable business by creating, distributing, maintaining, and updating malicious software products that are specifically designed to enable their users to cheat at the Blizzard Games, at the expense of Blizzard and its legitimate customers," Blizzard stated in its complaint.
Blizzard went on to claim that Bossland's collection of hacks "have caused, and are continue to cause, massive and irreparable harm," as it tips the tables in favor of cheaters when Blizzard "expends an enormous amount of time and money" ensuring that its games are both fair and enjoyable for players of all skill levels.
The Bossland Hacks destroy the integrity of the Blizzard Games, thereby alienating and frustrating legitimate players and diverting revenue from Blizzard to Defendants. Defendants’ sale and distribution of the Bossland Hacks in the United States has caused Blizzard to lose millions or tens of millions of dollars in revenue, and to suffer irreparable damage to its goodwill and reputation," Blizzard added.
Blizzard and Bossland have butted heads before, as the latter also sells cheats for Diablo 3, World of Warcraft, and Heroes of the Storm, all of which are mentioned in the complaint. According to Blizzard, Bossland is in violation of copyright infringement, unfair competition, and the DMCA's anti-circumvention provision.
Blizzard is seeking unspecified damages, injunctive relief, and other equitable relief.
Overwatch is big success for Blizzard. The new franchise stormed out of the gate and raced to 10 million users in less than month. While the majority of gamers play by the rules, the ones who cheat ruin the experience for everyone else. By using Watchover Tyrant, unscrupulous gamers can do things like spy an enemy player's location on a radar and know their distance.
"Defendant Bossland GmbH ('Bossland') and those working in concert with it have built a profitable business by creating, distributing, maintaining, and updating malicious software products that are specifically designed to enable their users to cheat at the Blizzard Games, at the expense of Blizzard and its legitimate customers," Blizzard stated in its complaint.
Blizzard went on to claim that Bossland's collection of hacks "have caused, and are continue to cause, massive and irreparable harm," as it tips the tables in favor of cheaters when Blizzard "expends an enormous amount of time and money" ensuring that its games are both fair and enjoyable for players of all skill levels.
The Bossland Hacks destroy the integrity of the Blizzard Games, thereby alienating and frustrating legitimate players and diverting revenue from Blizzard to Defendants. Defendants’ sale and distribution of the Bossland Hacks in the United States has caused Blizzard to lose millions or tens of millions of dollars in revenue, and to suffer irreparable damage to its goodwill and reputation," Blizzard added.
Blizzard and Bossland have butted heads before, as the latter also sells cheats for Diablo 3, World of Warcraft, and Heroes of the Storm, all of which are mentioned in the complaint. According to Blizzard, Bossland is in violation of copyright infringement, unfair competition, and the DMCA's anti-circumvention provision.
Blizzard is seeking unspecified damages, injunctive relief, and other equitable relief.
