Blizzard sues Starcraft II cheat hackers

[Nebi]

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27511932

Activision Blizzard is trying to sue hackers who have created cheats for its Starcraft II video game.

The publisher says the software undermines online multiplayer battles and could cause players to lose interest in the title.

It has filed papers with a California court calling for the unidentified programmers to be made to compensate it for copyright infringement.

One industry watcher described the move as "aggressive".

"The only reason that cheats like this exist is because there is demand for them," said Ed Barton, a video games analyst at the consultancy Ovum.

"But the competitive scene for Starcraft is very important, especially in Korea, and Blizzard needs to preserve the fantasy of the core experience."

News of the legal action was first reported by the Torrentfreak news site, which noted that the ValiantChaos MapHack cheats at the centre of the case remained available online if gamers paid a "donation" of $62.50 (

 

[Cid]

Hope they win.

Fucking hackers are pathetic. Never really encountered a game where cheating was as prevalent as with starcraft.

 

[blitzk]

get them.

 

[Matt4786]

Never thought I'd be rooting for Blizzard again after Diablo 3.

 

[Yecny]

Hope they win.

Fucking hackers are pathetic. Never really encountered a game where cheating was as prevalent as with starcraft.

Diablo 2 actually got pretty bad for a while too, all the duped items, maphacks, hacks that made people drop from the game, bots, etc. blizzard keeps getting screwed lol

 

[KaNesDeath]

Think they only have a case because this "cheat" requires a payment that is a violation of the TOS.

 

[TheFirstEMP]

Good. Look at the amount of games that have been ruined by hackers.

 

[Cid]

Diablo 2 actually got pretty bad for a while too, all the duped items, maphacks, hacks that made people drop from the game, bots, etc. blizzard keeps getting screwed lol

It's probably directly related to how successful the games are. Blizzard has produced some absolute juggernauts.

 

[Yecny]

It's probably directly related to how successful the games are. Blizzard has produced some absolute juggernauts.

Yeah exactly, plus you throw in the competitive aspect of them and its even worse. Another good example of hackers ruining games was the original counter strike.

 

[KaNesDeath]

It's probably directly related to how successful the games are. Blizzard has produced some absolute juggernauts.

Their success also followed by their eSports following/tournaments.

 

[IAC]

I despise any kind of hacker. I hope they win.