A cheatmaker who creates hacks for Pokémon Go, Entrance, en Harry Potter Wizards United has agreed to a $ 5 million settlement following a lawsuit filed by creator Niantic, Inc. filed in 2019. The final verdict on the case, which Niantic also gave a permanent order, was handed down in a California district court on Tuesday.
The hacking group Global ++, first reported by TorrentFreak, created three hacking programs: PokeGo ++, Potter ++ and Ingress ++, each of which were hacked versions of the relative games using the game code of Niantic. Using Niantic’s code, Global ++’s apps are ‘customized’ versions of Niantic’s games, giving players the ability to cheat their GPS and use, among other things, ‘auto-run’ features.
As part of the lawsuit, Global ++ faced charges, including copyright infringement and violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The cheatmakers were found to have gained and copied access to Niantic’s card data, and that they financially benefited from its actions by selling access to its programs, enabling players to cheat the system. (This is where the scores regarding the unfair competition law in California come in.)
As part of the settlement, Global ++ agreed to pay the $ 5 million damages. It also said that it would stop making these hacks, sell goods using Niantic’s code, and that it would not interfere with Niantic’s mobile games or servers again. (This is next to a long list of other things they are now forbidden to do.)
Niantic has been involved in a number of different lawsuits over the past few years, including a 2019 settlement Pokémon Go and ‘piss-off homeowners’, which requires Niantic to adapt the game. The year before, Niantic filed a lawsuit and agreed to pay Chicago participants Pokémon Go celebrates their share of a $ 1.58 million settlement.