Fortnite QA Tester Accused of Leaking Season 4 Files Defense Against Epic Games Lawsuit
A Quality Assurance tester who is accused by Epic Games of leaking details of the meteor strike which ended season 3 and details about season 4 has filed a defense, claiming that he did not work with a third party to spread the information.
In April 2018, details of the season four meteor strike were leaked online, spoiling the big reveal in Fortnite, which Epic Games claims has caused “irreparable injury”, that cannot be fully compensated monetarily.
Thomas Hannah was a QA tester for the game, and had signed a non-disclosure agreement meaning he could not discuss anything he learned with anyone whatsoever.
Any avid Fortnite fan will remember the mayhem as players speculated about the meteor strike, presuming that the Tilted Towers region was doomed.
On April 27th, a post on the main Fortnite Battle Royale subreddit explained that the true target of the meteor strike would be Dusty Depot, now named Dusty Divot since the damage.
Hannah is accused of providing this information to another person, DiMarco, who then was responsible for posting it to Reddit and thus ruining the surprise of the big season three finale/season four opener.
However, Hannah explains in his defense that DiMarco:
“pumped [Hannah] with a series of questions and guesses regarding where the meteor would hit. Based on Defendant’s initial response that it wouldn’t be hitting a place one would expect and, after further questions from DiMarco, that it wouldn’t be Titled Towers, DiMarco then gathered on his own and guessed if it would be Dusty Depot, to which Defendant confirmed yes.”
You can read the full reply from the defendant below.
Thomas Hannah reply to Epic Games complaint June 21, 2018. by Polygondotcom on Scribd
Hannah claims that this was a private conversation, and that he had no control over where the information ended up, and did not conspire to have the information spread widely online.
Regardless, the admission that the conversation took place confirms that Hannah breached the non-disclosure agreement.
Epic Games are still pursuing other legal actions against cheaters and hackers in the popular game, including one against a 14 year old.
