Activision: “Declaration of war” on German cheat manufacturer because of Call of Duty

Activision has taken a sharper tone in its lawsuit against a German provider of cheat software. A new font accuses those responsible not only of the usual offenses such as violating the terms of use, but also of organized crime. Nothing less than the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was violated. behind hides a Californian federal law that was originally aimed primarily against racketeering by the American mafia.

Specifically, Activision accuses the provider Engine Owning and the people involved of conspiring against the publisher in a way that is damaging to business. Among other things, it says: “The company is a well-coordinated multi-level marketing machine. The defendants work together to constantly sell cheating software licenses directly and to recruit resellers.” A network of vendors and resellers would buy cheating software licenses in bulk and then advertise and sell them extensively themselves, earning a portion of the revenue as margin.

Also interesting: CoD: Modern Warfare 2: The first cheaters appear in the beta, developers want to react

Thousands of transactions would have taken place in the USA alone, but many more abroad. Activision’s lawyers list a number of shell companies that are said to be involved in engine ownership. Most of the people are based in Germany, but there are also people from US states, the UK, France, Spain and the Netherlands on the list. In addition to several main defendants, the mother of one of the operators also appears in the lawsuit. She is said to have acted through administrative, financial, legal and other advisory services.

Call of Duty cheaters demand compensation and end cheat software

Activision naturally demands damages, but the lawyers also want to ensure that the fraudulent software is switched off and all copies are handed over to Activision for confiscation or destruction. In addition, all profits generated by engine ownership are claimed. Despite the consequences floating in the room, the accused are not particularly remorseful, according to Activision. For example, there are complaints that the publisher and his lawyers have been “trolled” online by fake accounts and fake postings.

Activision is asking for nothing less than a jury trial. According to older information, the question should also be clarified to what extent Activision and the Call of Duty brand were damaged. The publisher’s lawyers cite, for example, negative press coverage of cheaters and relevant social media posts.

It remains to be seen whether the “Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” is the right caliber. What is certain is that publishers no longer take cheating tools lightly. In Germany, Epic Games had already sued Engine Owning. Blizzard had previously successfully taken action against another cheat provider, Bossland, at the Frankfurt am Main district court. Especially in the context of Call of Duty, cheaters are always an issue – at the end of 2020, for example, 20,000 were banned from the Warzone.

Source: PC gamers, extended complaint