It’s a good day for anyone who has been frustrated by the constant influx of cheaters in Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft has filed a lawsuit against MizuSoft, a company that has reportedly sold “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of cheats for the popular tactical shooter.
Spending big to be pretend-good at a video game
The lawsuit, filed on October 23, 2019, seeks to shut down these “unscrupulous hackers and profiteers” who have been charging about $12 per day or $77 per month for their subscription cheat software (almost as much as Ubisoft wants its players to spend on skins — hey oh!). The software allows players to gain an unfair advantage — increased weapon damage, player FOV, and the ability to see enemy locations through obstacles.
An example of a high visibility cheat offered through this software
Players choose these cheat types specifically for their subtlety. Unlike an aimbot, which is fairly easy to spot, these cheats offer small but significant advantages to those using them. MizuSoft stated that they are “deadset on keeping cheat undetected.” Additionally they boast a “clean detection record.” After all, who would want to spend $12 a day only to be banned by the in-game anti-cheat software, Battleye?
Artificially upsetting the balance
The persistent issue of cheaters actively makes Siege worse and has been only intensifying. Ubisoft is alleging that cheaters have downloaded this software, titled “Budget Edition Rainbow Six Siege Cheat,” “thousands of times.”
The verbiage in the court filings hits the nail on the head for why this is such a big deal:
If that balance is artificially upset, or if there is a perception that some players are cheating or have an unfair advantage, then players will grow frustrated with the game and stop playing. That, in turn, could disrupt the entire R6S community and cause the game to wither and die.
A competitive game like Rainbow Six Siege relies on personal and team skill. If you die, you want it to be because you were outplayed. If you feel cheated then there is little incentive to come back and get better. The defendant, a minor only identified as J.V.L., knew that the software in question was damaging to Ubisoft and Siege as a game:
In fact, Defendant J.V.L.recently bragged to the media that his Cheating Software ruins R6S for other players. He also readily admitted that if he were to be sued by Ubisoft he would have a “tough time” defending his conduct.
What does this mean going forward?
The website hosting the sales of this software is down as of today. The only remnant is a single line of text reading “MizuSoft will be ceasing operations as of October 24, 2019.” Ubisoft is asking for the maximum damages allowed by the DMCA, $25,000 per violation, as well as “full costs and attorneys’ fees.” Additionally, they are demanding that the software and all hosting platforms for it be shut down. For those interested in all the details, the full lawsuit document can be found at Polygon.
What does all this mean for you, the faithful players? One less way to cheat in the wild and one less excuse for why you didn’t clutch out that round, scrub.
