Bungie Triumphs in $12 Million Anti-Cheat Lawsuit Against Destiny 2

Bungie, the developer behind the popular game Destiny 2, has emerged victorious in its battle against Romanian cheat seller Mihai Claudiu-Florentin and won a $12 million lawsuit. Claudiu-Florentin’s VeteranCheats sold cheat software that gave users an unfair advantage over others by allowing them to tweak their aim and see through walls. Bungie claimed that such software was harmful to Destiny 2’s competitive and cooperative modes. Bungie argued the case on the grounds of copyright infringement, violation of the DMCA, breach of contract, intentional interference with contractual relations, and violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act.

Bungie’s lawsuit demanded $12,059,912.98 in total damages, with $11,696,000 going toward violations of the DMCA, $146,662.28 for violations of the Copyright Act, and $217,250.70 accounting for the studio’s attorney expense. Stripe, a payment processing service, provided Bungie with information that revealed at least 5848 separate transactions took place through the service that included Destiny 2 cheating software from November 2020 to July 2022.

Bungie has invested around $2 million in anti-cheating efforts, including staffing and software, as per the lawsuit. In addition, Bungie has banned cheating devices in both competitive and PvE modes. Despite the verdict, VeteranCheats’ website is still offering cheating software for other games such as Overwatch and Call of Duty. However, Destiny 2 no longer appears on the site’s home page or search results.

The recent win comes at a time when Destiny 2 has also been dealing with other controversies. One such incident was a major leak that led to the banning of a prominent content creator in the game’s community.