Fortnite cheater loses lawsuit to Epic, damages paid to be donated to charity

Fortnite’s status as one of the most popular games in the industry can attract people who want to take advantage of the game and its players. As long as there have been games, people have been willing to pay for an unearned advantage. But now, a cheater in Fortnite has lost their lawsuit and must pay Epic Games for the damages they caused.

Brandon “BlazeFN” Despotakis was a Fortnite hacker who was known for selling cheats and artwork that looked just like what the actual game was putting out. The developer has won its case against the cheater, forcing him to close up shop, publicly apologize, and pay into charity.

Despotakis was found to be in violation of Fortnite‘s end user license agreement and terms of service, according to court documents obtained by GameSpot. He was also found to be in violation of Epic’s copyrights by copying artwork from the game. The legal proceeding began over a year ago, in April 2021.

Despotakis was selling all manner of Fortnite cheats, from aimbots to accounts with specials skins or other benefits. While the number of accounts and cheats sold is unknown, players using those cheats can likely expect consequences if they haven’t already.

One of the punishments Despotakis will face will be to pay Epic for an agreed-upon amount. Epic has chosen to donate these funds to a charity called Child’s Play, which intends to improve the lives of children and teens in hospitals worldwide.

“I’d like to apologize to the Fortnite community,” Despotakis said in a statement. “What I did was illegal and gave players an unfair advantage over other people who play by the rules. I won’t do this ever again.”