Last year, we started a new end-of-the-year tradition: a recap of all the legal and political dramas that have affected the MMO genre over the last 12 months. Notably in 2018, we saw…
- Criminal cases proceeded against the Call of Duty swatter and accomplices.
- The Crytek v. Cloud Imperium lawsuit over CryEngine and Star Citizen all but wrapped up.
- So did the ZeniMax Oculus lawsuit.
- Then there was the class action over Fallout 76.
- Multiple world governments are now investigating lockboxes, including the US. Belgium even began a criminal investigation into some of the games it accused of noncompliance with its gambling laws.
- Germany refused to enforce a US ruling against botmaker Bossland in favor of Blizzard.
- PUBG Corp. got into it with NetEase over copyright infringement. NetEase retaliated.
- Riot Games was sued over gender discrimination following a major corporate expose.
But if you’re looking for more of a “legal history” angle, check out Justin’s timely piece on the legal mess that was Interplay’s original but canceled Fallout Online. Enjoy!
A look back at the MMO industry’s law dramas of 2017
Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium files motion to dismiss Crytek copyright lawsuit
Korean prosecutors target former NCsoft VP for insider trading
Fortnite addresses Meltdown vulnerability, settles another cheater lawsuit
Creditors lay claim to nearly $700,000 in Gazillion assets in bankruptcy case
Accused Call of Duty swatter charged with involuntary manslaughter
Tencent helps Chinese law enforcement arrest 120 people linked to PUBG cheats
Fortnite racks up 40 million downloads, boasts about its success
Blizzard Korea helps Seoul cyber crime police arrest 13 Overwatch hackers and cheaters
Trademarks, copyrights, and patents: What they mean for you and for video games
Valve asks Australian High Court to set aside consumer law ruling that fined it over $2M
The Daily Grind: Have you ever taken drugs in an MMORPG?
Washington state senator proposes lockbox gambling investigation in new bill
Affidavit names two more gamers involved in fatal Call of Duty swatting incident
Star Citizen: Subber PTU access ‘perk’, developments in the Crytek lawsuit, and patch 3.0.1
World of Warcraft Classic progresses: ‘This is the right decision’
Hawaii state rep Chris Lee has now introduced four bills regulating lockboxes
New Hampshire senator Maggie Hassan has picked up the lootbox and gaming addiction cause
The ESA is fighting proposed DMCA exemptions that would preserve sunsetted MMORPGs because of course it is
Extra Credits raises concerns over lootbox legislation
MMO business roundup: Steam, toxicity, Kartridge, contracts, dopamine, and guns
Here’s how Netmarble’s fighting crunch after multiple developer deaths
A man reportedly attacked other men over Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go developer Niantic to pay out $1.5 million for its disastrous festival
PUBG Corp sues Netease for cloning PUBG in Knives Out and Rules of Survival
Nexon is fined for using shady lootbox ‘gachapon’ techniques in South Korea
The war on toxicity: Overwatch League and Rainbow Six Siege crack down
South Korea continues to hand out fines for deceptive lootbox practices
NetEase threatens to sue everybody who cloned its battle royale clones
The 2015 ArcheAge class action lawsuit continues, snarled in arbitration appeals
PUBG Corp’s infringement lawsuit against NetEase may not be completely ridiculous after all
The Daily Grind: What’s the biggest scandal the MMORPG genre has ever seen?
Police who killed innocent man during Call of Duty swatting incident won’t be charged
Bot-maker Bossland’s legit game flops, Germany rejects Blizzard’s US court victory and won’t enforce damages
Dutch Gaming Authority calls out four games as violating its lootbox policies
Australian courts deny Valve’s final appeal in Steam consumer protection case
Go down gamblin’: The Big Fish Casino game ruling in Washington spawns more lawsuits
Roblox takes down popular Pokemon-themed MMO
Belgium orders Overwatch, CSGO, and FIFA 18 to remove lockboxes or face criminal penalties
Kids these days: Fortnite fights a 14-year-old in court, signs 13-year-old to e-sports team
Chinese authorities arrest 15 more accused PUBG hackers, fining them over $5M
Niantic stages a second attempt at a summer Chicago Pokemon Go Fest after settling class-action lawsuit
World of Warcraft DDOSer sentenced to a year in prison, Blizzard chats about Battle for Azeroth’s latest round of faction wars
Daybreak update: Renova boss questioned over Columbus Nova’s alleged payment to Michael Cohen
Expect e-sports betting to blossom thanks to new Supreme Court ruling
Call of Duty swatting murder sees three men charged in federal court
PUBG Corp sues Epic Games, claiming Fortnite plagiarized its UI and items
Steam’s new moderation policy is even less of a moderation policy than before
The Game Archaeologist: The tangled legal history of Interplay’s canceled Fallout Online
Two teens who allegedly contributed to Call of Duty swatting murder plead not guilty
Valve turns off lootboxes in the Netherlands for DOTA 2 and CounterStrike: Global Offensive
Bethsoft alleges Behaviour and WB ripped off Fallout Shelter in the new Westworld mobile game
Fortnite teases The Playground mode as Epic sues a contractor over supposed leaks
Overwatch: Another hacker sentenced, a new hero teased, and an algorithm patent sought
PUBG Corp drops plagiarism lawsuit against Epic Games as Fortnite’s Playground goes live
France’s gambling authority condemns but does not ban lockboxes
Warner Bros. denies wrongdoing in Bethsoft’s Fallout Shelter/Westworld copyright lawsuit
Star Citizen backer took CIG to small claims court over his refund request – and lost
German courts rule against companies using ‘coming soon’ marketing for preorders
Lawsuit continues against Trion Worlds and ArcheAge’s 10% discount snafu
Netease calls PUBG Corp’s copyright lawsuit ‘shameless’, Riot and Tencent win non-compete lawsuit against alleged cloner
A judge has mostly denied Star Citizen studio’s motion to dismiss the Crytek copyright lawsuit
Take-Two scores in lawsuit against Grand Theft Auto franchise hack distributor
One of the Madden tourney shooting victims is suing EA
Belgium begins criminal investigation into EA’s noncompliance with gambling laws as lockboxes remain in FIFA
China’s delays on video game licenses may last another 4-6 months
NetEase’s blockbuster battle royale game Knives Out is porting to PlayStation 4
International regulators co-sign declaration to investigate lockboxes and skin gambling
Fortnite player arrested for threatening to kill an 11-year-old opponent
France fines Valve and Ubisoft over consumer protection laws
Old School RuneScape boots employee for in-game cheating, police are involved
Here’s what’s going on with China’s video game approval process in simple terms
A laid-off Telltale employee is suing the company for violating state and federal labor laws
MMO Business Roundup: FIFA lockboxes, anti-swatting policy, Fortnite on SNL, Free Guy, UO postmortem
Tencent is working on locking kids out of Chinese games using facial recognition tech
Another leg of the Oculus-ZeniMax lawsuit drama has ended as John Carmack and ZeniMax settle dispute
Rockstar Games levels lawsuit against Australian Grand Theft Auto V cheat creators
Epic Games is suing still more Fortnite cheat creators
US Library of Congress grants DMCA exception for preserving online games
The Video Game Museum offers a home to Star Wars Galaxies, City of Heroes, and WildStar
Call of Duty swatter slammed with 46 new charges on top of involuntary manslaughter
ArcheAge consumer lawsuit hits snag: Trion Worlds’ corporate dissolution
Black Desert: DDOS attacks, South Korean lawsuit, and Halloween
Take-Two seems to have strong-armed a British tech site over Red Dead Redemption 2 leaks
League of Legends’ Riot Games is now being sued for gender discrimination as sexism scandal continues
Another e-thug responsible for DDOSing SOE years back is brought to justice
There might just be a class action lawsuit over Fallout 76 refunds
The FTC commits to investigating video game lootboxes following US Senate subcommittee hearing
LOTRO composer Chance Thomas loses sound company over ponzi scheme
Niantic agrees to settle the property trespass class action lawsuit over Pokemon Go
Rapper 2 Milly files lawsuit against Epic Games over Fortnite dance emote
A judge has dismissed another chunk of Crytek’s Star Citizen engine lawsuit
South Korea now has a law criminalizing the act of boosting in online games
UK parliament committee will investigate addictive tech, lootboxes, and harmful gamification
ZeniMax and Oculus have finally settled their multi-year lawsuit – out of court
Netmarble’s appeal over deceptive lockbox practices has been dismissed
Carlton is making trouble in Fortnite’s neighborhood – by suing Epic over his dance
Escape From Tarkov devs lodge DMCA strikes over YouTuber’s ‘misinformation’ and ‘negative hype’
FBI seizes 15 different websites hiring out DDoS services
Fallout 76 asks banned players to submit a 500-word essay on why cheating is wrong
