While Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) players could write an encyclopaedia worth of information debating which MOBA is the best, there is one thing they, and most gamers in general, agree on. People who cheat to gain an edge in a competitive game are the worst. League of Legends, one of the most popular MOBA games out there, has been plagued by the issue but recently scored a huge win.
Riot Games, the developer and publisher of League of Legends, has won a lawsuit against LeagueSharp to the tune of $10 million. LeagueSharp is a service that offers hacks and bots to players of League of Legends for a monthly subscription fee. Fees can range from $15 to $50 per month depending on the hack, script or bot the user employs.
The lawsuit was initially won in January but the terms weren’t disclosed till now. As per the court’s decision, LeagueSharp has to pay Riot $10 million, its software will be banned and Riot will be handed control of its website. The last point is crucial as Riot will also be given information about users who have employed the website’s services to gain an edge.
Initially, Riot attempted the more quiet approach by approaching LeagueSharp’s owners but that path availed no solution. As a result, Riot brought in their lawyers who claimed that LeagueSharp’s tools violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by circumventing League of Legends’ anti-cheating mechanisms.
Furthermore, it was stated that LeagueSharp had set up a Peruvian shell company to hold its copyrights and to avoid the legal battle. LeagueSharp also allegedly attacked Riot servers and doxxed one of the employees.
While cheating will still prevail in League of Legends this will no doubt strike a huge blow to the community of gamers who employ those methods to gain an unfair edge over their fellow gamers.
