Game developer Blizzard, known for bestselling games Overwatch and World of Warcraft, is taking legal action against German company Bossland in a California court for its Watchover Tyrant cheat tool.
Watchover Tyrant offers Overwatch players a number of advantages in-game, such as enabling the display of hidden locations and health status of obscured opponents.
Blizzard developers claim that the cheating tool has cost the company millions of dollars and ruined the game for legitimate players, resulting in a breach of the end-user agreement contract. Given the company’s banning of thousands of Overwatch players found to be using cheats last month, it is unsurprising that they have decided to take their complaints over cheats to the courts.
This newest complaint is not the first the Blizzard has launched against Bossland — there are currently 10 other continuing legal cases of a similar nature filed against the company in Germany. Additionally, Blizzard previously sued Bossland over a cheating tool developed for its MOBA Heroes of the Storm. Blizzard lost that case and was ordered to pay Bossland’s legal fees.
Bossland CEO Zwetan Letschew isn’t worried about this newest lawsuit, claiming that the California court has no jurisdiction over his German company. However, Howard Rubin, a partner at law firm Bird and Bird, claims that the court does have jurisdiction over Bossland since “it is likely their license agreement is subject to US law.” Either way, Bird believes that the suit will prove ultimately unsuccessful.
Whatever the outcome, this case is already garnering attention as it generates questions on the legality of cheating software and what the increased accessibility of hacks means for the future of the gaming industry.
What are your thoughts on Overwatch cheats and Blizzard’s commitment to taking them down? Does Blizzard have a right to sue? Let us know in the comments below!
Published: Jul 5, 2016 08:16 am