Epic Games says Brandon Lucas is “unlawfully modifying” the game’s code to get an advantage over other players and that he also sells these hacks to others.

Lucas has more than 1.7 million followers on his Golden Modz YouTube account and posts videos of himself using the cheats to “troll” other online players.

Legal papers filed in North Carolina state: “Lucas’ websites encourage visitors to purchase hacks and/or Fortnite user accounts preloaded with hacks.

Epic told the BBC. “We take cheating seriously, and we’ll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players.”

“Defendants are cheaters. Nobody likes a cheater,” Epic Games said in its lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina. “Defendant Lucas not only cheats, he also promotes, advertises, and sells software that enables those who use it to cheat” by “unlawfully modifying the game’s code.”

Making An Example:

Given that these are the first instances, at least that I am aware of, of Epic Games suing a player directly due to the promotion of cheating. As such, the chances are that they’re going to want to set quite a strong example here to the rest of the community. Brandon Lucas has protested the law case stating: “I’m just a kid that’s making YouTube videos and a lot of people are enjoying this.”

Most of Lucas’ videos containing Fortnite cheats have been removed from YouTube after Epic issued a takedown notice. Conter has yet to publicly address the accusations, while Lucas expressed his confusion in a recent video. “I’m confused because there’s about a thousand other content creators on YouTube that make Fortnite content without repercussions,” explains Lucas.

Lucas and another YouTuber, Colton Conter, who goes by the name Exentric, are both being sued on copyright and breach of contract grounds.

In the meantime, Epic Games is bolstering its effort against cheaters after acquiring anti-cheat software company Kamu.