AimJunkies violated Bungie's copyrights when creating and selling Destiny 2 cheats
Bungie committed to protecting players against cheats, has taken legal action in the past
Bungie secures historic $63,210 victory against cheat site AimJunkies in copyright case
First jury trial ruling on legal action taken by a game developer against a cheat seller
Bungie, the developer behind popular online games such as Destiny 2, has secured a significant victory in a court battle against cheat site AimJunkies. The jury trial took place in Seattle and resulted in an award of $63,210 in damages to Bungie. This is believed to be the first time a jury has ruled on legal action taken by a game developer against a cheat seller.
Bungie filed the lawsuit against AimJunkies and four defendants in 2021, alleging that they hacked Destiny 2 to create and sell cheats. Some of Bungie's complaints went to arbitration, resulting in a $4 million award for the company. However, AimJunkies appealed this decision.
The jury found that AimJunkies had violated Bungie's copyrights when creating and selling cheats for Destiny 2. The defendants had argued that they were protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), but the jury disagreed. Phoenix Digital founder David Schaefer plans to appeal the verdict.
Bungie has been committed to protecting its players against cheats and has taken legal action in the past, including a lawsuit against an individual player for harassment and threatening one of its employees. Other major publishers like Nintendo have also taken similar actions against cheating software providers.
The ruling sets an important precedent for game companies seeking financial damages against cheat sellers. It demonstrates developers' increasing willingness to take aggressive legal action to preserve competitive integrity and curb disruptive behavior that degrades the experience for legitimate players.
Bungie is looking to prove AimJunkies violated copyright law, as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention rules by bypassing Bungie’s security measures and trafficking (or selling) software designed to circumvent those measures.
Bungie reportedly found records that Phoenix Digital paid May
The jury trial between Destiny 2 developer Bungie and cheating software creator and distributor AimJunkies began on Monday, nearly three years after the lawsuit was filed by Bungie lead attorney Jacob Dini in a Seattle court.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
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Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting as Bungie's lawyers are only presenting evidence that supports their position and ignoring evidence that may support AimJunkies. For example, the article states 'Bungie reportedly found records that Phoenix Digital paid May more than $700,000 for his work.' However, it does not mention that the sales records provided by Phoenix Digital only documented $43,000 in sales. This is a clear omission of important information. Additionally, the article contains emotional manipulation as it portrays Bungie as a victim and AimJunkies as cheats and hackers who have put them out of business.
May didn’t create the Destiny 2 cheat, and that AimJunkies.com is a cheat marketplace, not a cheat creation company.
Bungie reportedly found records that Phoenix Digital paid May more than $700,000 for his work.
It's likely the first time a video game cheating lawsuit has made it this far in the court system, according to lawyers who spoke to Game File.
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting lawyers and the publication Polygon. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing Phoenix Digital's actions as a 'David and Goliath scenario'. There is also a potential for a dichotomous depiction in the description of Bungie's actions as 'running around in circles and looking like fools', but without further context, it is unclear if this is an accurate representation.
It's likely the first time a video game cheating lawsuit has made it this far in the court system, according to lawyers who spoke to Game File.
May didn’t create the Destiny 2 cheat, and that AimJunkies.com is a cheat marketplace, not a cheat creation company.
The appeal is currently being considered for oral arguments in a Portland, Oregon court in August or September.
Seattle federal judge instructed jurors that Bungie’s cheat code sellers defendants destroyed evidence by deleting records they had a duty to preserve once aware of copyright claims.
Bungie is pursuing copyright claims against a group of cheat code sellers in a Seattle federal trial.
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