When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn 
Activision has secured a significant legal victory against EngineOwning, the cheat vendor. A federal court awarded $14.4 million in damages.
This judgment marks a critical step in Activision’s ongoing battle against cheating in its popular Call of Duty games.
In January 2022, Activision sued EngineOwning, known for providing cheats for various Call of Duty titles, including Warzone and Modern Warfare 3. The court found that the cheats offered by EngineOwning caused substantial monetary damage to Activision. They impacted the gaming experience and the company’s reputation.
As part of the ruling, EngineOwning must also pay $292,000 in legal fees, and its website domain will be transferred to Activision, effectively shutting down the cheat provider’s online presence.
Anti-cheat Efforts in Gaming
The lawsuit highlighted the persistent issue of cheating in competitive multiplayer games, with Activision arguing that EngineOwning’s software was designed to evade detection by its anti-cheat technology.
Activision has invested heavily in developing its Ricochet anti-cheat software to combat such cheating. It aims to protect games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone.
This legal victory follows a similar case involving Bungie, the developer of Destiny 2. It won $63,210 in damages against the cheat maker AimJunkies. In both cases, the courts ruled in favor of the game developers, signaling a tough stance against cheat manufacturers.
Despite this victory, there are concerns about Activision’s ability to collect the awarded damages, as EngineOwning seems to operate outside the United States.
As Activision continues its efforts to curb cheating, the company hopes that these legal actions will deter future cheating activities. The publisher has also announced measures on X (formerly Twitter) to penalize players involved in cheating, including resetting ranks and banning accounts from ranked play in upcoming titles.
🛡️ #MW3 #Warzone #TeamRICOCHET
In continuation of our commitment to combating unfair play, all accounts found to have participated in any form of boosting behavior in Multiplayer or Warzone Ranked Play will have their SR reset and be removed from the Leaderboard ahead of the…
— Call of Duty Updates (@CODUpdates) May 28, 2024
