Game developers Bungie and Ubisoft have sued cheat makers Ring-1, according to a lawsuit filed in California that was reported on by TorrentFreak. Bungie and Ubisoft allege that through making and distributing cheats for Destiny 2 and Rainbow Six Siege, among other games, Ring-1 “has caused, and is continuing to cause, massive and irreparable harm” to both developers. The two companies are seeking damages for multiple offenses, which could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Ring-1 proprietors named in the lawsuit are Andrew “Krypto” Thorpe, Jonathan “Overpowered” Aguedo, Wesam “Grizzy” Mohammed, Ahmad Mohammed, and John Does 1-50, who Bungie and Ubisoft believe are responsible for overseeing or distributing cheats. A number of other contributors were named only by their screen names; Bungie and Ubisoft are in the process of tracking down their real names and other information to amend the suit. Players could purchase access to software that allowed them to see through walls, track other players’ locations, and lock on to headshots.
In the lawsuit, Bungie and Ubisoft allege that Ring-1’s cheats could cause legitimate players to become frustrated with or lose interest in their games, resulting in lost revenue for both companies.
The companies also accuse Ring-1 of copyright infringement for allegedly using Destiny 2 and Rainbow Six Siege art and logos on the Ring-1 website without permission and for developing software that was made “for the purpose of circumventing technological measures that control access to their games,” according to TorrentFreak. Because the creation of cheats often involves reverse-engineering whole games or segments of their files, they can be considered derivative works under the law.
Besides damages, Bungie and Ubisoft are asking for the Ring-1 website and all of its cheating software to be shut down. Ring-1 has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
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