Epic Games has made an example out of Fortnite cheater RepulseGod, real name Morgan Bamford, who tried to scam their way to the top of a multi-million dollar tournament.
Details of Epic Games’ action were announced by the company last night, alongside the posting of a humiliating public apology video by Bamford where he acknowledged he cheated and confirms he is now banned from Fortnite tournaments for life.
In a statement, Epic Games said it sued Bamford when it emerged he had shared his account with a friend to qualify for the FNCS 2023 Global Championship – Fortnite’s biggest tournament, which that year held a $4m prize pool.
“We took legal action against a player who shared their account to unfairly qualify for FNCS,” Epic Games wrote, in a message posted to its Fortnite Competitive social media account. “Now they’re banned from Fortnite tournaments forever and their undeserved prize money was donated to charity.”
Exactly how much Bamford lost is unclear, though in the qualifying legs for the tournament it’s likely he earned thousands of dollars.
Bamford’s public apology video, now public on his YouTube channel, reveals he had to pay a “monetary settlement, which included the money I received but did not win fairly, which Epic will donate to charity”.
That charity, as chosen by Epic Games, is Child’s Play – an organisation which aids children with access to games and specialist gaming equipment.
Late last year, Epic Games said it was “ramping up legal action against both players who cheat and cheat sellers”, as it sought to bolster “competitive integrity in tournaments”.
Bamford’s public punishment, loss of money and apology video are all clearly designed to deter others from doing the same.
“Cheating in tournaments ruins the fun for the players who earned their spot in tournaments and I apologise to the Fortnite community for my actions,” Bamford’s apology video concludes. “I wont [sic] ever cheat in Fortnite again.”
Fortnite will next be collaborating with Mortal Kombat, ahead of the battle royale game’s fresh season that will also star a crime-loving pickle.
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