Epic Games has settled a three-year-long lawsuit against a teenage Fortnite player who was accused of using cheats in the game (thanks Law360). C.R., who was 14-years-old at the time of the 2017 lawsuit, was alleged to have been using and advertising Fortnite hacks on his YouTube channel.
Epic repeatedly referred to the minor as a "cheater" in its original 2017 complaint. The company accused C.R. of "ruining the game playing experience of players who do not cheat," adding "nobody likes a cheater. And nobody likes playing with a cheater."
Epic claimed that C.R. was modifying their game by changing code using the hacks, citing Copyright Law and violation of the game's EULA. The filing also claimed that C.R. had been banned 14 times previously, and was signing up for new accounts with false names.
The case raised numerous questions in court over the years regarding the ethics around punishment for cheaters, and whether it's really okay to sue 14-year-old children for mucking about with hacks.
C.R.'s mother called out Epic Games for targeting a minor instead of the hacking websites being advertised on his YouTube, which were publicly available and being used by numerous other Fortnite players. In a 2017 letter written to the court, she claimed that Epic was "using a 14-year-old child as a scapegoat to make an example of him."
The Notice of Voluntary Dismissal doesn't reveal any details about the settlement, just that Epic, C.R. and his court-appointed guardian have agreed to dismiss all claims and action following the Court's approval of the settlement agreement.
This isn't the first time Epic has sued a minor—another teenager known as CBV reached a settlement with Epic back in 2019 after also allegedly advertising hacks on his YouTube.
The lawsuit has existed for almost as long as Fortnite's battle royale mode. The game had just 10 million players at the time of the filing. It now boasts over 350 million players. Check out what's going on in the battle royale in our breakdown of the state of Fortnite in 2021.
