Riot Games, the company behind League of Legends, has won a $10 million lawsuit filed against LeagueSharp, the creators of a bot and scripting service that allows players to cheat in the massively popular online multiplayer game.
With the victorious legal action, Riot Games sends out a message to all players that cheating will not be tolerated in League of Legends.
LeagueSharp's 'League Of Legends' Cheating Tools
LeagueSharp, as described in the complaint filed by Riot Games in 2016, injects so-called assemblies or scripts into League of Legends for a subscription fee of $15, giving players an unfair advantage over legitimate users. In addition, for another $50 per month, the botting service of LeagueSharp artificially levels up multiple accounts of players.
It was reported that LeagueSharp, through its charges for its cheating tools, was earning monthly revenues that reach hundreds of thousands of dollars from tens of thousands of subscribers.
Riot Games also accused LeagueSharp of launching attacks on its servers, as well as providing tutorials to players on how to cheat and fraudulently dispute in-game transactions in League of Legends. LeagueSharp was also said to have leaked the private information of a certain employee of Riot Games after the company tried to reach out to the cheating tool company for a settlement before heading into court.
Riot Games claimed that LeagueSharp was in violation of the DMCA for League of Legends, as its services were created to evade the anti-cheating software of the online game. LeagueSharp's services also violated the terms of use agreement for League of Legends, which prevents the utilization third-party software such as automation programs.
Riot Games Wins Lawsuit Against LeagueSharp
U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew signed off on the settlement and injunction, awarding Riot Games a $10 million payout against LeagueSharp.
In addition to the monetary award, the court ordered a ban on LeagueSharp, ordering the makers of the cheating tools to never again use anything created by Riot Games. In addition, the court forced the people behind LeagueSharp to hand over the control of all its websites and services to Riot Games.
With the victory of Riot Games, players who have experienced going up against cheaters on League of Legends will hopefully see the chance of such incidents happening be reduced dramatically. In addition, for people who may be thinking or are currently running cheating methods for the online multiplayer game, it gives them a chance to pull out of the business unless they think they can pay off a $10 million penalty.
Cheating In Online Games
Cheating remains rampant in online games, as some players want to win at all costs, even that includes utilizing unfair advantages over their opponents.
Fortunately, video game developers and publishers have been trying to control cheating, including Valve utilizing artificial intelligence against Counter-Strike: Global Offensive cheaters, Nintendo banning players who altered their save data for Pokémon Sun And Moon from the online features of the games, and Blizzard taking out player accounts who are guilty of using a cheating method known as nuking in Overwatch.
Some anti-cheating initiatives are more successful than others, but for them to succeed, perhaps the most important factor is that the player community should remain vigilant in fighting back against cheaters.
