Epic Games is Trying to Sue a 14-Year-Old for Cheating

Epic, the folks behind Fortnite, are taking cheating very seriously.

While most companies say that, only a few really mean it, dishing out the harshest of punishments for people caught using bots or hacks to win their games effortlessly. Typically, that means a lifetime ban from the game in question, or, if you’re Blizzard, banning them from ever playing any of your games ever again. But Epic is taking things to a whole new level and has decided to not only ban players, but also, sue them.

…That’s right, Epic is taking out lawsuits against people they catch cheating on their games. And while no one here likes cheating and is probably happy to see cheaters put into place, I think their first choice of victim is evidence that this system is very flawed.

Namely, it’s been discovered that they’re trying to sue a 14-year-old kid. And his mother is having none of it, writing a very detailed letter to the courts asking that the case be dismissed. And the letter makes some fairly compelling points:

• The case is based on lost profits, but since Fortnight is free-to-play, they would need to prove her kid’s cheating impacted enough people’s game experience to result in a significant loss of money.
• She refutes the claim that her son helped create the cheat in the first place, and even if he did they couldn’t prove it.
• She reports that by releasing her son’s name publically, they’re violating Delaware laws which forbid releasing minor’s information in such a way.
• Even if all the above were true, her son wasn’t bound to the Fortnight’s terms of service anyway, since they require a minor get parental consent before agreeing to them, which she never gave.
• And finally she claims this whole case is just a naked attempt by Epic to turn her son into a scapegoat.

Oh, also, you can’t sue minors.

Epic decided to respond to Kotaku, who reached out to them for comment, and had this to say:

“Epic is not okay with ongoing cheating or copyright infringement from anyone at any age. As stated previously, we take cheating seriously, and we’ll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players.”

Look, you’ll find no apologist for cheaters here. But I’m also for proportional punishment, and this clearly isn’t. 14-year-olds do and say stupid stuff. You shouldn’t—and technically, can’t—sue them for that.

Here’s hoping the case is thrown out.