In a landmark legal decision, Bungie has prevailed in its court battle against cheat site AimJunkies over the selling of software tools enabling cheating in the hugely popular online game Destiny 2. A jury ruled that AimJunkies, legally known as Phoenix Digital, must pay Bungie $63,210 in damages – representing the estimated revenue earned by the site through sales of the cheating products.
This case is believed to be the first time a jury has ruled on legal action taken by a game developer against a cheat seller. The verdict sets an important precedent in firmly establishing the validity of these types of lawsuits and the ability for game companies to seek financial damages.
“We are grateful for the diligence, professionalism, and care exercised by the Judge, his staff, and the Jury,” said James Barker, Bungie’s attorney in the case. “We’re committed to our players and will continue to protect them against cheats, including taking this and future cases all the way to trial.”
The jury rejected a countersuit from AimJunkies founder David Schaefer alleging that Bungie had illegally accessed one of the site’s computers during its investigation. However, Schaefer vowed the fight is not over, stating “we will fight this” and plan to appeal the decision.
The ruling deals a significant blow to the lucrative underground industry of selling game cheating tools and hacks. It demonstrates developers’ increasing willingness to take aggressive legal action to preserve competitive integrity and curb chronically disruptive behavior that degrades the experience for legitimate players.
$63,210 in damages, to be specific
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To my knowledge, this is the 1st time a jury (in the U.S., possibly the world) has ruled on a game cheating case.
With this, we now have a jury verdict that supports game companies' frequent claims that cheats like these infringe on copyright pic.twitter.com/qvDhFwq0zK
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) May 24, 2024
Bungie has been proactive on this front, having previously won a lawsuit in 2023 against an individual player for harassing and threatening one of its employees. Other major publishers like Nintendo have also begun cracking down, recently securing a $2.4 million judgment against the team behind the Yuzu Switch emulator.
As online gaming ecosystems continue to expand with live service models, preserving a fair environment becomes paramount for the long-term health of these platforms and communities. This decisive court victory arms developers with substantial new legal precedent as they fortify their defenses against peddlers of cheating software.
