Epic suing playtester who leaked Chapter 2 secrets, new map

Olivia Richman Published 26/10/2019

When Fortnite was swallowed by a black hole and seemingly wiped off the internet, fans of the game were scared at first. But worries that the battle royale was closing down after the wildly unpopular Season X were alleviated when a leak informed players that “Chapter 2” was coming.

Now, the person responsible for the Chapter 2 leak is being sued by Epic Games.

A user experience tester, Ronald Skyes, had early access to Fortnite’s second chapter in late September. The playtester leaked Chapter 2 a few days before the world of Fortnite was sucked into a black hole, ruining the suspense of Epic’s marketing tactics.

Three days after playing Fortnite’s new content, Skyes tweeted to another user that he “played S11 and can tell you the new stuff.” From another account, Skyes shared an image of the new map, also revealing that players would be able to swim in Chapter 2.

In response, Epic Games filed a lawsuit in North Carolina on October 25, claiming that Skyes had violated a non-disclosure agreement he’d signed with the game developers prior to testing. For this, Epic asked for injunctive relief and maximum damages.

Epic Games slamming Fortnite Chapter 2 leaker with massive lawsuit

“As a direct result of Sykes’ breach of his contractual obligations under his NDA, Epic has sustained and will continue to sustain damages in an amount to be determined,” Epic stated in the lawsuit, which is available in full on Scribd.

Epic Games has run into similar issues in the past. Last year, Epic sued a quality assurance contractor for leaking Season 4 details. On May 7, Epic filed a lawsuit against Thomas Hannah for leaking the details, since Epic “continued to suffer irreparable injury” thanks to the leaks.

In response, Hannah’s lawyers responded that a third person had “pumped Hannah with a seriers of questions and guesses regarding where the meteor would hit” at the end of Fortnite’s third season. This was a big mystery at the time, something that Epic had built up to much like the black hole at the end of Season X. Wherever the meteor hit would be completely wiped out.

Hannah explained that the other person leaked his private conversation, claiming to have “more spoilers” on their social media page. But Hannah stated that he had no intentions of spilling any details to the public as a whole after playtesting. Still, sharing information, even in the private conversation, went against Epic’s non-disclosure agreement.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile