Fortnite cheat must pay $175,000 in damages

A Fortnite cheat has been ordered by the courts to pay developers $175,000 and received a lifetime ban from the game.

• READ MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 review: easy to pick up, almost impossible to put down

In 2024, a player was banned from Fortnite for using a direct access memory device during a tournament, which let him bypass anti-cheat measures and allowed him to see through walls and make use of auto-aim bots. However, he followed up on his punishment by creating a number of alternative accounts and using banned hardware to continue playing.

According to PC Gamer, they won $6,850 from 18 different Fortnite tournaments during a four-month stretch. He was also reported for cheating by rival players 991 times.

Fortnite developers Epic Games took legal action against the player in December 2024. “This week we filed a lawsuit against a player who cheated in our tournaments. This player used cheating software and hardware and tried to avoid getting caught by using multiple accounts. It didn’t work. Cheating has no place in Fortnite and we’re doing everything we can to stop it, including legal action,” they said at the time.

Update: This week we filed a lawsuit against a player who cheated in our tournaments. This player used cheating software and hardware and tried to avoid getting caught by using multiple accounts. It didn’t work. Cheating has no place in Fortnite and we’re doing everything we… https://t.co/ZBxD706Pyi

— Fortnite Competitive (@FNCompetitive) December 18, 2024

Last week, a court ordered the player to pay $168,550 for DMCA and Copyright Act violations, and another $6,971 in attorneys’ fees after he ignored the legal action. However Epic’s request for $100,000 in damages for copyright infringement was rejected. “THIS JUST IN: The Judge ruled in our favor after the cheater ignored our lawsuit. The player is required to pay $175,000 and we’ll donate what we collect to charity. They are also banned from playing Fortnite forever,” wrote Epic Games.

THIS JUST IN: The Judge ruled in our favor after the cheater ignored our lawsuit. The player is required to pay $175,000 and we’ll donate what we collect to charity. They are also banned from playing Fortnite forever. https://t.co/on0dYWBdq4

— Fortnite Competitive (@FNCompetitive) June 25, 2025

Epic Games will reportedly donate the $175,00 to Child’s Play, a charity that donates toys to children’s hospitals around the world.

Last year, Epic Games announced it was going to “ramp up legal action against Fortnite players who cheat” in a bid to improve competitive integrity at tournaments.

Earlier this year, they confirmed they had taken legal action against a player who shared their account to unfairly qualify for a tournament. “Now they’re banned from Fortnite tournaments forever and their undeserved prize money was donated to charity.” Epic Games also made the player share a public apology video.

Elsewhere, Fortnite players aren’t happy with the Bruno Mars takeover in Festival and they’ve also complained about a “corny” new Kendrick Lamar emote.

In other news, the developers behind Dying Light have celebrated the zombie parkour’s tenth-anniversary with a huge update that makes the game look and sound better.

The post Fortnite cheat must pay $175,000 in damages appeared first on NME.