Activision files lawsuit against cheat provider EngineOwning for $800 million

Cheating has become such an issue in COD Warzone that Activision is attempting to stem the flow of cheaters by filing a lawsuit against EngineOwning. This was soon after Activision's release of the kernel-level anti-cheat system, dubbed RICOCHET, back in December 2021.

However, cheating is still a problem in COD Warzone. On January 4, a lawsuit was filed by Activision against EngineOwning in the Central District of California. EngineOwning is a popular site (one of many) based in Germany that sells cheats such as aimbots, wallhacks, rapid fire, and recoil-removal software, just to name a few.

---

Activision seeks compensatory damages due to cheat software

According to the lawsuit, Activision “seeks to put a stop to unlawful conduct by an organization that is distributing and selling for profit numerous malicious software products.” To Activision, using cheat software gives users an “unfair competitive advantage.” For example, software that automatically aims for the player.

Activision makes the case that the use of cheats will “damage Activision’s games, its overall business, and the experience of the COD player community.” It points to the design of the games being welcoming to any and all players, and that the use of cheats “disturbs game balance.”

At some point, new and experienced players may “quit matches in frustration,” and, if the problem persists, quit COD Warzone for good.

A portion of the lawsuit in question (Image via Cloud Document)

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact amount of damage EngineOwning has allegedly caused, but Activision believes it’s “millions of dollars.” Activision further claims EngineOwning has “made hundreds of thousands of dollars” by way of selling cheat software.

Activision doesn’t stop there. The company claims that the number of infractions from players breaking the Terms of Use has reached “tens of thousands.” According to Activision, the rulebreakers were using EngineOwning’s cheat software at the time. In fact, streamer "Wagnificent" was banned from COD Warzone for using EngineOwning software.

To make matters worse, EngineOwning is apparently developing cheat software for another popular title: Overwatch. The intense multiplayer shooter is owned by Activison’s affiliate, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

As to how EngineOwning will react and respond is still unclear. What is clear is that the prolific use of cheating software continues to cause a stir in the COD community, despite the implementation of RICOCHET.