Blizzard Suing Group Selling StarCraft II Hacks

Regardless of the game, game type, genre, online or off, cheating has a real presence in gaming today. And if there’s one company that wants it done away with more than any other, it’s Blizzard. The company has a long history of banning players en masse from its World of Warcraft MMO game – well over 100,000 to current day. And similarly, it’s also taken a major stance against private servers.

MMO games tend to be the biggest target for cheats online, but StarCraft II is far from being safe. That’s so much the case, that Blizzard is targeting those creating SC II hack programs, which can be used for both cheating on and offline. Three people are named in this particular lawsuit, and given Blizzard’s successful legal history, the future doesn’t look too bright for them.

According to the company, the result of hacks that skew gameplay and give a player an obvious advantage is  “immediate, massive and irreparable“, also stating that gamers who are the victim of hacks have ruined gameplay. I don’t play StarCraft II, but having dealt with the same kind of thing in numerous FPS games over the years, and also some MMOs, I can’t disagree with that statement.

There’s no telling what the punishment will be for the alleged infringers, or what Blizzard stands to gain, but at least fans of the company can remain confident that it’s doing something about hackers, crackers and what-have-you. That’s a lot more than can be said about so many other companies that operate online games.

Blizzard is suing for direct copyright infringement, inducement to infringe copyright, contributory copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement, breach of the end-user licensing agreement and terms of service, and intentional interference with contractual relations.