Activision awarded $14.5 million in Call of Duty cheatmaker suit

Bungie isn't the only developer winning against cheatmakers this week. As spotted by VentureBeat, Activision won its lawsuit against companies EngineOwning UG and Garnatz Enterprise Ltd, plus 11 individuals, and will be awarded $14.465 million in damages and around $293,000 in attorney fees.

Along with the money, EngineOwning is required to give Activision its domain name.

The suit was first filed in early 2022, with Activision alleging the defendants profited off cheats for Call of Duty games that gave them an edge over players. It also claimed that specific software was designed to avoid detection by its anti-cheat tech.

Based in Germany, EngineOwning's cheats included showing players' in-game locations, and assistance with auto-aiming and firing. Along with Call of Duty, its technology is also used in Counter-Strike and Battlefield titles.

In 2022, Activision's lawsuit noted how Call of Duty's popularity let "unscrupulous individuals and companies such as EngineOwning frequently seek to exploit the games for their own personal gain."

With those cheats in play for what would've been Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Vanguard at the time, the publisher claimed they lost "substantial revenue" and damaged the games' (and publisher's) reputation.

As for the 11 individuals, it appears Activision didn't do what Bungie did with one cheatseller and permanently ban them from playing any current or future Call of Duty game.