Cheating in multiplayer games is a persistent issue that seems almost impossible to eradicate completely, despite all the anti-cheat software and deterrents out there. It’s unfortunate but true. Cheating disrupts the integrity of public lobbies and competitive ranked games and even extends to esports tournaments, where players try to gain illicit advantages. Demonstrating a zero-tolerance policy, Epic Games recently took decisive action against a Fortnite Championship Series cheater, Morgan ‘Repulse’ Bamford, by displaying the case prominently on their social channels, following legal action, a repayment of prize money, and a mandate to release an apology video.
Epic Games is certainly taking a firm stance. The Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) boasts some of the largest prize pools in esports history, drawing international competitors annually. Usually, when players violate rules, swift competitive bans are imposed by publishers and tournament organizers. Yet, public shaming of offenders is unusual. That’s precisely Epic’s approach in addressing Repulse’s conduct.
Repulse, a professional player from Australia, found themselves at the heart of a major scandal involving cheating to secure a place in the 2023 FNCS Grand Finals. Epic discovered that Repulse had shared their account with another player, ‘Forbes’, who played in their stead to help qualify alongside Repulse’s duo partner. Mere days before the Grand Finals set to occur in Copenhagen, Denmark, both Repulse and their partner ‘Jace’ faced bans from the competition.
More than a year later, Epic detailed the repercussions of Repulse’s misbehavior. “Cheating is never a winning strat,” Epic declared in a post on X, highlighting the ban from all future Fortnite tournaments and redirecting Repulse’s prize money to charity as a stark reminder of their actions.
An apology video was also released, seemingly part of the legal resolution. While Repulse doesn’t personally appear in the video or narrate, the apology text echoes Epic’s previous statement and includes Repulse’s remorseful message: “Cheating in tournaments ruins the fun for the players who earned their spot in tournaments and I apologise to the Fortnite community for my actions. I won’t ever cheat in Fortnite again.”
This bold move stirred mixed emotions across the Fortnite community and among players of other competitive games like Call of Duty. While the public exposure astonished many, Epic’s firm stance against cheating is gathering widespread commendation.
For those not necessarily into Fortnite but keen on competitive multiplayer, there are plenty of fantastic games to discover on our curated lists of top multiplayer games and the best free PC games available.
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