Epic Games has filed a new lawsuit against cheat makers Sincey Cheats and Vanta Cheats, citing both violations of Epic’s terms in Fortnite and alleging that the defendants fraudulently impersonated Epic Games in an attempt to revoke the takedown of several YouTube videos. While lawsuits against cheat makers are nothing new (Bungie, Activision, Ubisoft, and Tencent Games have all previously filed lawsuits against distributors), impersonating an Epic employee is unusual.
The lawsuit targets not only the creators of these tools but also groups that resold the software. The cheats allowed players to see through walls and use auto-aim against opponents, rendering in-game cover meaningless and ensuring that every bullet hit its mark. According to Epic Games, Sincey Cheats — also known as Ediz Atas — has created and sold cheat software since January 2023.
Epic claims that the cheats and the corresponding advantage they grant over non-cheat users directly harm the company by pushing away non-cheating players and thus removing the customer base for in-game items like the Battle Pass and cosmetics.
The lawsuit claims Epic has “issued tens of thousands of bans against Fortnite accounts” that used these cheats, including more than 15,000 in the United States.
Epic filed DMCA takedowns against several YouTube videos that demonstrated the cheats in action and worked as an advertisement, in response to which Sincey Cheats allegedly spoofed an employee email in an attempt to revoke the takedowns. According to the suit, “the email was manipulated to appear as if it had come from Epic by appearing to originate from an email address with the domain name @epicgames.com, using the name of an actual Epic employee, and using ‘Epic Games, Inc’ in the signature block.”
“Sincey cheats sent at least 11 virtually identical copies of this same fraudulent email,” according to the lawsuit.
Epic didn’t explicitly state the amount it seeks in damages, but the company is looking to make up for lost profits and other costs associated with the lawsuit.
