Activision wins Call of Duty cheat case for $14.5 million

Activision has just been awarded a large sum of money in a lawsuit it has been pursuing against cheat maker EngineOwning since 2022. In a court ruling this week, District Judge Michael Fitzgerald ordered EngineOwning to pay Activision $14,465,600 in damages for creating and distributing cheats for Call of Duty. EngineOwning creates and distributes cheat software for numerous online shooters, Call of Duty happens to be one of them.

Activision initially sued the company more than two years ago. The lawsuit noted that distributing these cheats harms Activision’s player base and violates the company’s terms of service for Call of Duty. It says EngineOwning “knowingly continued its operations” knowing it violated Activision’s terms.

Activision has been fighting cheaters and cheat makers for a while now. In recent years, it has ramped up its anti-cheat mitigation with numerous changes to its anti-cheat software. Some of the most notable measures included making sure that cheaters immediately free-fall without a parachute when they land on the map in Warzone. The result is an instant down. Another restriction would make legitimate players invincible to cheaters, while yet another made them invisible so cheaters couldn’t see them.

However, Activision’s fight against cheaters through its anti-cheat software can only go so far. By comparison, fighting in court could provide a more lasting solution.

Activision gets more than money in the cheat lawsuit

While $14.5 million in damages is likely a major blow to EngineOwning, this is just the tip of the iceberg. According to the ruling, EngineOwning must also transfer the website to Activision. It must be done stop making and selling the cheating software, in addition to paying an additional $292,912 in attorney fees to Activision for the costs of the lawsuit.

In short, things aren’t looking good for EngineOwning. The court names EngineOwning and numerous defendants in the case, including the company’s founders Valentin Rick and Leon Risch.

EngineOwning was ordered to pay $3 million in damages last year

As reported by IGN, this isn’t the first time EngineOwning has been ordered to pay Activision money. The court ruled in 2023 that it had to pay Activision $3 million in damages for the same reason. The development and distribution of cheat software. However, the company continued to cheat after that ruling, prompting Activision to take further action.