A South Korean teenager has reportedly been arrested for creating hacks for Blizzard’s Overwatch.
In Korea, creation and distribution of cheating software is illegal and punishable with jail time and fines. The teenager arrested and his 24-year-old accomplice face both if they’re deemed guilty in Korean court.
A report from a South Korean news site said the cheat creator made more than $100,000 in profit from nearly 1,000 customers. The aim assistance programs were reportedly sold from $70 to $100, according to a translation of the story.
Police told the Korean news site that the teenager took inspiration from international hacking group Anonymous, dropping out of high school to create these cheating programs. Hacking has been a problem in Korean Overwatch for a while now, with Blizzard struggling to keep up with banning players using external software for an advantage.
Blizzard has reportedly banned more than 22,000 Korean Overwatch accounts in January alone. To curb cheating, the developer also changed the way the game is accessed in Korean gaming cafés—known in Korea as PC bangs.
Players using foreign Blizzard accounts are now required to own an Overwatch license to play the game at PC bangs. Korean players can access the game with their own Blizzard account, which requires a Korean social security number to be attached. Removing the anonymity from Overwatch in PC bangs is an attempt to dissuade players from using cheating programs.
Blizzard is also taking on international cheaters. Earlier today, it was reported that the developer won a court battle against German hacking software creator Bossland.
