While the action in Epic Games‘ Fortnite is fast and heavy, it’s what’s happening outside the game that’s probably hitting someone the hardest.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Fortnite Intel recently reported that the publisher of the hit multiplayer game recently filed a lawsuit against a former contract quality assurance tester for leaking out information about Season 4 before it was released.
Thomas Hannah, the QA tester in question, is the target of the suit, as the publisher noted that the leaks caused “irreparable injury” ahead of when the company’s official announcement. They noted that he “also diminished the enjoyment of the people who play, or who watch others play, Fortnite by ruining the suspense that had been building in the Fortnite community in anticipation of the upcoming season.”
Apparently Hannah spoke to a Reddit poster about what was going to happen leading up to the season, including meteors striking a specific part of the map, in this case Dusty Depot. It turns out he was right and Epic Games was none too pleased about that info getting out.
Hannah has since filed a defense, stating that he did talk to someone but didn’t intend for the information to leak out. He noted it was a private conversation and the person then leaked the information.
The defense also notes that the person who talked to Hannah “pumped with a series of questions and guesses regarding where the meteor will hit,” or how the season would end. But keep in mind that by talking to someone about the events from Season 3, Hannah did kind of break the non-disclosure agreement that he signed. So it sounds like the court could easily rule in Epic Games’ favor based on this alone.
The proof is pretty much gone, as both the Reddit post and account are no longer on the site. But it looks like Epic still has a lot to go off of with its suit.
We’ll keep you informed how things move along in the weeks ahead. But yeah, if you sign a non-disclosure agreement you shouldn’t disclose. That’s how it works.
Fortnite is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
(Hat tip to Fortnite Intel for the scoop!)
