Virtual explosion: Bungie & Teenage Destiny 2 settle their differences with a 500,000 $ permaban!

Out-of-court settlement between Bungie and a teenager who cheated in Destiny 2

A teenager who allegedly cheated in Destiny 2, evaded several bans, threatened Bungie employees and generally made the developer's life a nightmare, has reached an out-of-court settlement with the video game company. In addition to a list of restrictions moderating his future behavior, the teenager has accepted Bungie's offer of $500,000 to bring the matter to a close.

Copyright lawsuits against cheaters

Bungie's lawsuits against the manufacturers, sellers and users of cheating software have unexpectedly divided opinion.

While David vs. Goliath battles tend to get the little ones cheering, many video game fans are fed up with their enjoyment being spoiled by people who deliberately seek to spoil it.

The fact that many of these individuals spend large sums of money to gain an imaginary advantage only adds to the injury. In a particularly malicious case, Bungie had clearly seen enough.

A familiar case with unusual features

In July 2022, another Bungie lawsuit was revealed. It targeted a person who had used cheating software in Destiny 2 and was now accused of breaching security mechanisms controlling access to a copyrighted work.

For each violation of the DMCA's circumvention provisions, Bungie claimed $2,500. For modifying Destiny 2, thereby creating an unauthorized derivative work, Bungie was entitled to claim a further $150,000. If this was complicated enough, it soon became apparent that Bungie had unwittingly sued "L.L.", a 17-year-old minor.

Fortunately for Bungie, the details of the case quickly removed any sympathy for the teenager; the DMCA charges were overshadowed by allegations of ongoing harassment against Bungie employees. L.L.'s" decision to mount a particularly robust, remorseless defense made perfect sense and sounded absolutely terrible.

At least in the short term, it hasn't been particularly effective either.

Bungie and its teenage enemy finally reach an agreement

In a proposed consent judgment and permanent injunction filed in a Washington court earlier this month, Bungie systematically repeats many of its original accusations, while the defendant silently agrees.

The defendant used cheating software in Destiny 2. This software displayed a graphical overlay in Destiny 2's copyrighted audiovisual work and injected code to facilitate cheats, thus creating an unauthorized derivative work in violation of copyright. The software circumvented Bungie's technical measures in violation of the DMCA, with each use of the software representing an independent circumvention violation.

Further violations of the DMCA's circumvention provisions occurred each time a new account was opened to circumvent a Bungie ban, and each unauthorized download of Destiny 2 was another violation of Bungie's copyrights. In total, the parties agree that Bungie is entitled to $300,000 in damages for copyright infringement, and an additional $200,000 for 100 acts of circumvention at $2,000 each.

Grand total: $500,000 in damages.

Permanent injunction and permanent cessation

To avoid any repetition of the defendant's alleged conduct, a wall of text in the proposed judgment prohibits L.L. from having anything to do with cheating software targeting Bungie-owned property, having anything to do with Bungie-related game assets, or interacting with a Bungie game, ever.

It is also prohibited to directly or indirectly harass Bungie or its employees, or anyone playing Bungie games. Defendant may not travel within 1,000 feet of Bungie's offices, nor knowingly travel within 1,000 feet of the home of any Bungie employee, "except as incidental to travel on highways and public roads for purposes other than contacting or harassing" Bungie employees.

L.L. is also required to undertake a complete account deletion mission.

"This permanent injunction is binding on the defendant worldwide, without regard to the territorial scope of the specific intellectual property rights asserted in the complaint in the above-captioned case, and may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction wherever the defendant or its assets are located," the consent judgment states.

With this, the parties request that judgment be rendered in accordance with the terms set out, including an indemnity of $500,000 in favor of Bungie. Once all the necessary lessons have been learned, the judge's signature will put an end to the case. At least in theory.

Related documents are available here (1,2pdf)