Blizzard to sue creators of 'ValiantChaos' StarCraft 2 hack

The StarCraft 2 ValiantChaos Map Hack has enraged the folk at Blizzard so much that the studio is suing its creators. According to a complaint document acquired by TorrentFreak , Blizzard filed a lawsuit against the programmers in April. The hack sells for US$62.50 and at this stage, the identities of the creators is still unknown.

“The hacks and cheats made available by Defendants, including a product known as the 'ValiantChaos MapHack', modify the StarCraft II online game experience, to the detriment of legitimate StarCraft II users, and thus to Blizzard itself,” it's stated in the court documents, which were filed at a court in California.

“Defendants create and sell their unlawful software products with the knowledge that they are facilitating and promoting users to infringe Blizzard's copyrights, to breach their contracts with Blizzard, and to otherwise violate Blizzard's rights.”

Blizzard will sue on the grounds that the hack creators have breached the game's terms of use, encouraged others to also do so, and have also made a series of copyright infringements.

PC Gamer's Emanuel Maiberg explored the dark underworld of profitable game hacks last month in his investigation into the "aimbot dealers, wallhack users, and the million-dollar business of video game cheating". It's an eye-opening read. It feels like whole centuries since we guiltily typed "IDDQD" during a Doom playthrough.

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.