How much effort is aCall of Dutyaccount worth? According to player b00lin, at least two years of legal wrangling. The victim detailed his experience inhis blog, waginga legal war against Activision that deserves a spot in the courtroom drama hall of fame alongsideA Few Good MenandThe Verdict.
The player was a victim of a wrongfulcheating banduring the early playtest ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This sensational story cautions against treatingautomated banningas foolproof.
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In 2022, b00lin was 36.2 hours into the Steam beta when he received a ban notification. Upon inquiring,Activision said his “account has been permanently banned for using unauthorized software and manipulation of game data”, and said the ban would not be overturned.
Further attempts tocontact Activisionthrough its ticket system, phone lines, and even LinkedIn contacts did not give any results.Those who did talk to b00lin refused to provide proof of him using unauthorized software citing security concerns, as cheat developers could ostensibly use the information to improve their product.
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After Activision proved uncooperative, b00linmoved things to the legal system. His first step was a Money Claim Online submission, a UK government service that streamlines small claims. The publisher was a no-show, which awarded b00lin a full refund plus claim fees.
Despite paying the player,Activision still refused to overturn the ban. According to b00lin, “the courts did not order them to do so”.
The next step in this thrilling legal saga was to file a non-money claim requesting the account suspension to be removed. Activision handed off the case to a legal firm, anddespite reaching a tentative agreement with them that required b00lin to pay court fees and sign an NDA in exchange for getting unbanned, the publisher shut that down.The case would go to court.
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To make his case in front of the judge,b00lin presented a dossier showing his clean record over thousands of hours of competitive gameslikeCounter-Strike 2and made it clear he did not want money or anything to do with Activision. His demands are the same as when it all began: lift the account ban, and move on.
In a puzzling turn, Activision did not present its defense team with any materials that could prove or even point towards b00linusing unauthorized software.
Given that Activision did not present any evidence to support its case,the judge awarded the case to b00lin and found the publisher to have violated the contract.
Activision had to pay £711 (approximately $881) in costs, and b00lin got his account back onCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,Modern Warfare 3, andWarzone.The two-year legal odyssey was over, and justice prevailed.
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