Blizzard Entertainment, developer of the runaway hit Overwatch, is not one to shy away from protecting its copyrights or going after anyone who attempts to allow cheating in its games. In a lawsuit filed at a federal court in California, Blizzard is doing both. They are accusing German company Bossland, the maker of the Overwatch cheat tool “Watchover Tyrant”, of copyright infringement and unfair competition.
Bossland is not new to the realm of providing cheat tools for Blizzard games. They also sell cheats for World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, and Diablo III. Those cheat tools are also mentioned in Blizzard’s complaint.
Blizzard accuses the cheat maker of various forms of copyright infringement, violating the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision, and unfair competition. The developer also claims that these bots and cheats also cause millions of dollars in lost sales, as they ruin the games for many legitimate players.
“Defendants’ sale and distribution of the Bossland Hacks in the United States has caused Blizzard to lose millions or tens of millions of dollars in revenue, and to suffer irreparable damage to its goodwill and reputation. Moreover, by releasing ‘Overwatch Cheat’ just days after the release of ‘Overwatch,’ Defendants are attempting to destroy or irreparably harm that game before it even has had a chance to fully flourish.”
Watchover Tyrant is a very popular cheat tool, reportedly used by thousands of people in matches. It enables players to see the locations and health status of opponents that are either hidden or obscured.
