July 5th, 2016 
Mark Gaming giant Blizzard Entertainment has taken legal action against the reported creators of an Overwatch cheating program. TorrentFreak reports that Blizzard has filed a lawsuit against Germany-based cheating company Bossland (which it also sued over World of Warcraft “buddy bots”) for an Overwatch cheating tool called “Watchover Tyrant.”
According to the site, “thousands” of players may be using this tool. It hurts the integrity of the game in that it allows players to see where enemies are and what their health status is.
Blizzard sued Bossland on the claim that Bossland had committed copyright infringement and was participating in unfair competition.
“Defendants’ sale and distribution of the Bossland Hacks in the United States has caused Blizzard to lose millions or tens of millions of dollars in revenue, and to suffer irreparable damage to its goodwill and reputation,” Blizzard said in its complaint.
“Moreover, by releasing ‘Overwatch Cheat’ just days after the release of Overwatch, Defendants are attempting to destroy or irreparably harm that game before it even has had a chance to fully flourish,” it added.
In its lawsuit, Blizzard also mentioned that it had already rooted out “thousands” of Overwatch cheaters. Bossland reportedly said it would, in response, tweak their program so that it would be harder for Blizzard to detect.
Blizzard is seeking compensation for its losses, as the developer argued that Bossland’s cheating tools have brought in “millions in revenue” for the German company.
“Defendants not only know that their conduct is unlawful, but they engage in that conduct with the deliberate intent to harm Blizzard and its business,” the developer said. “Blizzard is entitled to monetary damages, injunctive and other equitable relief, and punitive damages against Defendants,” the complaint reads.”
Bossland CEO Zwetan Letschew told TorrentFreak that his company had no yet received notice of this lawsuit in writing as of July 4. He added that he’s not fearful of the legal action because it was filed in California and the court has no jurisdiction over his company. Whether or not this turns out to be the case remains to be seen.
Head to TorrentFreak to get the full story and to read the lawsuit.
In November 2015, Blizzard vowed to “aggressively defend” its games and services against cheating companies such as Bossland.
“We’ll continue to aggressively defend our games and services, within the bounds of the law, in an effort to provide the best possible experience for our players,” a representative said at the time. “We want to use this as an opportunity to remind players who might not be aware–using bots, such as those distributed by Bossland, to automate gameplay in our games will result in a loss of access to those games.”
For more on Overwatch, check out some of GameSpot’s recent news stories below.
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