Epic Games has caught 1,221 Fortnite cheaters during the first week of the game’s World Cup qualifiers. Of these, 206 had actually won monetary prizes during the competition.
Most of the cheaters (1163 accounts, including 196 prize winners) had circumvented the game’s region locks. This gave them higher chances of winning by logging in from different regions. Epic has banned these cheaters for a total of 14 days.
Epic Games has also given 14-day bans to 48 accounts, nine of which won prizes, for account sharing. They also banned eight accounts, including one winner, that were caught teaming, or partnering with each other during solo queue matches. Another account that tried to disconnect to prevent an opponent from receiving points was also banned for 72 hours. Epic will also forfeit any cash prizes won by these players.
In addition to this, Epic caught a professional player trying to use cheating software. Johnathan “JonnyK” Kosmala tried to use cheat software to see other players’ locations. Kosmala was caught when CBV, the maker of the software he used, partnered with YouTuber The Fortnite Guy to expose his cheating.
CBV stated that while he’s happy to sell cheat software, he took issue with Kosmala using his cheats to make money from playing professionally. “He said that he was only looking for a competitive advantage for the cup so he could receive the money,” stays CBV in regards to Kosmala. “At that point, it just comes down to morals. It has nothing to do with me exposing him for using the cheat, but for the idea behind it…I wasn’t looking for anything else, just exposure that this person who signed a professional organization has the intention of cheating only to receive the money from doing so.”
As a result of this, Team Kaliber, who Kosmala played for, has announced that they’re releasing him. “This violation is serious and we have ended our relationship with him,” the team states. “We apologize to our supporters for his lapse in judgement.”
The Fortnite World Cup is set to pay out $30 million worth in prize money. As such, players can get tempted to cheat to get a slice of the pot. In response to this, Epic is amping up their detection system for Fortnite cheaters.
