The company Epic is filing a lawsuit against a “User Experience Tester” at Fortnite . He was allowed to test the strictly confidential Chapter 2 before everyone else. He then talked on Twitter about “Season 11” and even spread the map – but hardly anyone believed him. However, this does not matter for the lawsuit.
Who is being sued? As reported by the site Polygon , Epic filed the lawsuit in North Carolina on October 25 (via scrib).
A Ronald Sykes is being sued. He is said to have spread almost all secret information about Chapter 2 of Fortnite – via Twitter.
The relevant Twitter account has since been deleted: Epic, however, has submitted screenshots of the tweets to the court.
This is the event in question:
- On October 13, Fortnite launched an in-game event. It ended with the previous map being sucked into a black hole. Fortnite was offline for almost two days.
- On Tuesday, October 15, Fortnite returned with a new map and many changes. It was now Fortnite Chapter 2. Epic had worked towards this event.
Actually, this event and what happened afterward was strictly confidential. Epic toyed with the idea that this could really be “the end” of Fortnite and kept fans guessing.
Invited as a tester to the headquarters
This is what Sykes allegedly did: Sykes was able to play the new content as early as the end of September, Epic says in the lawsuit. He was invited to Epic’s headquarters in North Carolina on September 21.
During a “User Experience” test, he was supposed to provide feedback, but Epic promised him not to talk about it. For this, Epic had him sign an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement.
The lawsuit states that Sykes broke the NDA.
As early as September 24, Sykes is said to have tweeted, “I already played Season 11 and can tell you about the new stuff.”
“FortNews GAWD” – #1 Fortnite Leaker
Epic further states: A Twitter user reportedly called themselves FortNews Gawd and #1 Fortnite Leaker on October 5. They started posting even more information.
Including an image of the “Season 11” map. This was posted 9 days too early.
With this account, there were many further leaks that turned out to be correct:
- there are boats
- you can swim
- rivers run through the map
- information about weapons like the “Bandage Bazooka”
- and the new reward system
Epic states: According to their information and knowledge, Sykes controls all these Twitter accounts.
Epic wants damages
This is what Epic wants: According to Epic, such leaks negatively impact financial performance. They decrease excitement and enthusiasm, leading players to switch to other games.
Due to the leak, Epic has already suffered financial damage and continues to incur financial harm. Therefore, Epic wants compensation from Sykes.
The court should order Sykes to destroy all trade secrets of Epic. And it should ensure that Sykes pays an amount reflecting the damages.
No one believed the leaks
Did Sykes’ leaks become known? Not really. Because there are already countless Twitter accounts that publish leaks about Fortnite. A new account therefore takes time to make a name for itself. Until then, it is considered untrustworthy.
The map hardly circulated as a result. It was considered fake and a “user invention.”
The leaks from Sykes, for which he is now being sued, achieved hardly any massive public awareness. However, a leaked trailer of the Battle Pass the evening before Chapter 2 started actually brought the information to light.
It seems that Epic wants to set an example here – like with the 14-year-old cheater.
Epic has already sued a game tester for leaks before.
