Epic previously took a Fortnite cheater to court in Australia for violating Epic’s copyrights and illegally selling accounts and cheating to other players in the game. The end result is that the cheater publicly apologized, shut down his business of selling scammed and stolen accounts, and paid Epic damages, which Epic said it donated to charity.
According to Gamespot, the Federal Court of Australia has ruled that Brandon Despotakis (ID: BlazeFN) has indeed violated the Fortnite End User License Agreement (EULA) and terms of service by illegally selling illegal merchandise such as skins, add-ons and pre-completed battle passes.
It’s unclear how many cheats and accounts it actually sold, but it is foreseeable that those buyers who bought these products will also be punished in the game, and it is currently unknown when Epic will hold these players accountable, even if not involved. Cheating, selling or buying accounts in Fortnite is also against the terms of the game.
Epic released a statement on the entire topic: “The sale of stolen player accounts and cheating techniques puts people’s information at risk and undermines the fair gamer experience. We take the illegal sale of these items seriously and we will do everything in our power to do so. Maybe to make sure our games stay fun and fair, money can’t buy wins.”
BlazeFN issued an apology on his personal Twitter, and he explicitly told potential buyers to stop asking him about Fortnite hacks or accounts. “I want to apologize to the Fortnite community. What I did was illegal and gave some players an unfair advantage over others who played by the rules, and I won’t do it again.”
As part of the settlement, BlazeFN must also pay Epic damages in an agreed-upon amount. But the amount wasn’t shared with GameSpot, and the money will be donated to Child’s Play, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and teens at children’s hospitals around the world.