Bungie, the developers of the popular game Destiny 2, are suing Twitter streamer Luca Leone for $150,000, alleging he cheated at the game, threatened to burn down their headquarters, and threatened one of their employees.
The lawsuit alleges that Leone, who tweets under the handle @inkcel, used third-party software to “gain an unfair advantage by players without the skill or integrity to succeed at the game on their own merit and a level playing field, and which ruins the experience of playing Destiny 2 for Bungie’s large community of honest gamers”
Leone is also accused of threatening Bungie community manager Dylan Gafner. The lawsuit states Leone tweeted that he lives thirty minutes away from Gafner, and that he followed up that tweet by writing “he is not safe.”
Leone had also previously tweeted a picture of Gafner’s employee badge with the hashtag “#NewProfilePic.”
“it’s a warm summer day in portland and dylan has just woken up from his restless slumber. He rolls over to pick up his phone so he can check twitter as he sees that someone is cheating with his full government name as their bungie id,” Leone tweeted on June 10, 2022, and added in a subsequent tweet “DYLAN GAFNER LMDOAOAOAOAO.”
Leone also allegedly threatened to burn down Bungie headquarters in Seattle. On July 4, 2022, in response to a tweet asking if anyone was willing to commit arson in Seattle in exchange for payment, Leone replied that he was, and that the poster would receive a discount if the target was Bungie.
The games company alleges that Leone would stream footage of himself cheating at the game on his Twitch channel miffysworld, and would make new accounts to continue playing the game after he was banned for his behavior.
Bungie requires all game players to execute an LSLA in order to play Destiny 2, which requires users to agree not to hack or modify the game, create or distribute software that gives players an unfair advantage, and other stipulations designed to prevent cheating.
Destiny 2 is a free game whose income depends on players making in-game purchases. The lawsuit alleges that cheaters drive honest players away from the game, which diminishes sales of in-game items and hurts the company’s bottom line.
Bungie also accuses Leone of selling non-transferrable Destiny 2 emblems, which are digital art awarded for “in-game achievements or real-world conduct.” Bungie claims that Leone sold emblems that were only awarded to players who donated to specific charity drives, and that he was not only stealing from them, but also harmed the Bungie Foundation’s attempts to aid various charitable causes.
This is not the first time Bungie has taken legal action against cheaters. In August 2021, Bungie and Ubisoft announced they were jointly suing the cheat manufacturer Ring-1, and in June 2022 Bungie won a $13.5 million lawsuit against cheat creator Elite Boss Tech.