Destiny 2 studio accused of hacking cheat-maker in countersuit claim

How the tables have turned. Bungie — the studio behind Destiny 2 and, originally, Halo — has gone to war with cheaters and trolls over the past two years, now it finds itself sued by one of its targets. They claim Bungie did more or less what they accuse them.

AimJunkies, a cheat manufacturer that has tussled with Bungie in court for more than a year, alleges that Bungie “hacked” a developer’s computer for information on the cheat makers. This countersuit was filed in Washington State federal court last week. It was first reported by TorrentFreak.

Bungie had alleged that AimJunkies violated their rights in the initial lawsuit Destiny 2’s copyrights by creating cheats for the live-service shooter. In May, AimJunkies responded that cheating isn’t breaking the law, and disputed that Bungie’s copyright claim was relevant. The judge agreed with Bungie, though he did allow Bungie to revise their argument. Bungie’s amended complaint, filed in May, revealed more information, and named additional cheat developers — specifically one named James May.

Seizing on this revelation, AimJunkies’ reply to Bungie’s claim says that Bungie actually hacked May. After introducing the BattlEye anti-cheat system last August, Bungie amended its Limited Software License Agreement (LSLA) to allow the studio to access players’ computers for the software. However, AimJunkies’ countersuit alleges that Bungie accessed James May’s computer prior to that update to the game’s LSLA.

AimJunkies is now saying Bungie violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, and “hacked” May’s computer multiple times from 2019 until the studio implemented the LSLA changes in 2021. The counterclaim alleges that Bungie used May’s PC to gather information on AimJunkies’ colleagues. Bungie could have accessed the information May had provided he had signed into in 2022. Destiny 2 All players should have agreed to the new LSLA.

AimJunkies and Phoenix Digital are suing May for unspecified damages in their counterclaim.

It’s all part of an ongoing and multi-layered legal battle, and it’s quite complex, with multiple accusations being thrown across the table. It’s also unclear how sound AimJunkies’ legal strategy is here. It is a novel idea, however, which puts pressure on Bungie who was the aggressor in this case and others. Whether the judge finds AimJunkies’ accusation compelling is another question.