Overwatch Cheat Mod Maker Fined $8.6M

The makers of a bot for cheating at Blizzard games such as Overwatch have been ordered to pay $8.6 million for copyright infringement.

German firm Bossland had previously asked the US federal court to dismiss Blizzard’s claim, arguing that it didn’t come under US jurisdiction. That request was denied and Bossland then chose not to offer a defense, though it now says it’s reviewing its legal options.

The $8.6 million includes covering legal fees. The claim itself covered 42,818 allegations of copyright infringement based on the idea that Bossland’s bots effectively modified the code of the game to allow the cheating. In doing so, it created a copy of the game without permission.

It’s the sheer number of infringements that led to the size of the damages as they are “merely” statutory damages. The court decided against Blizzard’s argument that Bossland should also pay punitive damages designed for punishment rather than recompense.

Blizzard also argued that it suffered financial damage because the availability of cheats made the game less attractive to those who played by the rules. (That might be arguable considered some of the cheats might not have bothered subscribing if they had to play fair.)

Whether Bossland will actually pay up remains to be seen, but in the meantime it is also barred from marketing or selling the relevant cheats within the US.