Epic Games has filed a lawsuit against Ronald Sykes, a former Fortnite User Experience Tester, for breaking a non-disclosure agreement and leaking Chapter 2.
In the filing obtained by Polygon, Epic accused Sykes of spilling a trade secret and ruining the surprise for players after it spent months building suspense. The developer is seeking injunctive relief and damages.
The lawsuit reads:
Unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets undermines the incentive to create and innovate because it demoralizes those who work on a game over many months, only to have the fruits of their labor soured by someone they held in a position of trust.
Defendant’s conduct is damaging to Epic in many ways. Just as leaked secrets can generate significant traffic and revenue to the benefit of those who publish them, those leaks are destructive to the owner of the leaked material. Leaks negatively impact the financial performance of current and future versions of the game. They tend to lessen the excitement and enthusiasm of a game’s players and audience, potentially leading them to move to other games.
Sykes wasn’t the only source of Fortnite: Chapter 2‘s leak. Apple’s Italian app store accidentally leaked some promotional artwork for the content as well. However, considering Sykes broke NDA, he’s going to have a tough time defending himself.
Epic Games has refused to comment on the litigation and Sykes hasn’t returned Polygon’s request for comment. However, the defendant seems to have removed his social media profiles, including the Twitter account associated with the leak.
[Source: Polygon]
