David vs GoliathÂ
Epic Games is suing a beta tester who was allegedly responsible for leaking Fortnite Chapter 2 information. Only a couple of weeks ago, Fornite essentially disappeared off the face of the earth in a massive publicity stunt in order to draw people into the next Fortnite game. While this was supposed to be a moment of heightened tension and anxiety for Fortnite fans, it was promptly cut short by leaks that confirmed a new Fortnite game was incoming. It is the person who was allegedly responsible for that incident that Epic Games is taking to court.
Ronald Sykes, the beta tester in question is being accused by Epic Games of violating an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Sykes had previously worked for Fortnite beforehand testing out Fortnite Season 11.
Epic Games is holding Sykes responsible for leaking information that told fans that swimming was going to be a new feature. As well as letting fans take a look at the new map that was going to be added. Sykes was supposedly spreading this information usuing a multitude of Twitter accounts that he had made exclusively for this purpose.
As the whole process has just started, it is not very clear what exact charges or fines Sykes will be facing. However, it is very unlikely that he will face jail time, a large fine is almost a guarantee though.
Epic Games is one of the largest game studios in the world. So it is hard to imagine that Sykes will be able to pull off a victory in court. Especially if they have some sort of damning evidence that we have no way of knowing about at the moment. It should be interesting to see where this leads.
Fortnite Chapter 2 is available for the PS4, PC, Xbox One and Switch.