Bungie and Ubisoft, two popular gaming companies, have filed a lawsuit against a website that provides cheating services, giving unfair advantages to people not ashamed of using such programs.
There is no denying that some people use cheats and similar programs to get ahead over legitimate players. Some would go to great lengths just to acquire such tools, and that is why a service called “Ring-1” exists.
What is Ring-1?
Ring-1 is a website that sells and distributes cheating software for some popular games, most notably Rainbow Six Siege and Destiny 2, among others.
Their cheating programs are not cheap. For example, an aimbot hack for Destiny 2 costs roughly $35 per week. Getting monthly access to this program would require people to spend almost double that amount.
The website is claimed to be operated by Andrew “Krypto” Thorpe, Jonathan “Overpowered” Aguedo, and Wesam “Grizzly” Mohammed, among many others.
The lawsuit alleged these people would illegally acquire access to the games’ software clients and then tamper with them to create cheating programs that they sell.
In addition, these tools are tested using “throwaway accounts” so that even if they got banned, it wouldn’t be a problem for them as they can just create new ones to do the same thing.
The Lawsuit
Bungie and Ubisoft filed a lawsuit in the California district court alleging Thorpe, Aguedo, Mohammed, and others for their participation, distribution, and operation of the Ring-1 platform.
Ring-1 is not only operated on just one website, but is also active on various websites, social media platforms, and hundreds of forums.
The lawsuit claims that these individuals have conducted "massive and irreparable harm to the plaintiffs and their business interests." Not to mention that the use of hacks and cheating tools affect the experience of everyone, especially the legitimate gamers.
Those who are involved in Ring-1 are violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and are subject to copyright infringement offenses for using the games’ artwork for illegal purposes, as well as reverse-engineering the game assets.
Both gaming companies not only demand that the defendants pay actual or maximum statutory damages but also want Ring-1’s operations shut down.
Hopefully, this will send a message to hacking tool developers to stop what they’re doing. What do you think about the lawsuit filed against the operators of Ring-1?
