Activision awarded $14.5 million in lawsuit against Call of Duty cheat provider

Cheat provider EngineOwning has been ordered to pay Activision $14.465 million in damages after the publisher accused the vendor of causing harm to the company's reputation and player experiences in Call of Duty.

The details:

• The lawsuit, which was filed in 2022, accused EngineOwning, Garnatz Enterprise Ltd, and 11 individuals of having "engaged in the development, sale, distribution, marketing, and exploitation of a portfolio of malicious cheats and hacks for popular online multiplayer games, most prominently the [Call of Duty] games."

• Aimbots, wall hacks, and other cheats are available on the Germany-based website for as little as €4.49 for three days access, with the tools allegedly being updated on a regular basis to avoid COD's Ricochet anti-cheating system. According to Activision, this has caused the company to "suffer massive and irreparable damage to its goodwill and reputation and to lose substantial revenue."

• As reported by VentureBeat, a California judge has found the defendants liable and ordered the cheat provider to pay $14.465 million in damages plus an additional $292,912 in attorney fees. A permanent injunction has also been issued against EngineOwning's website, requiring the company to immediately transfer ownership of the domain to Activision.

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