Overwatch Cheater Sent to Jail by South Korean Courts

South Korea Takes Competitive Gaming Seriously

With a booming eSports industry, South Korea takes their gaming seriously. Which is why unlike many countries in the world, they have laws in place to punish game hackers and cheaters. In fact, South Korean courts recently sentenced a 28-year old Overwatch hacker a year in prison plus two years probation. This is after he was found guilty of creating a program for cheating in Overwatch.

According to SBS news (via DotEsports), this hacker reportedly earned 200 million won or around $180,000 USD with this hack. Considering how competitive Korean players are in Overwatch, it does not come as a surprise that he was able to make that much money.

How Often Do Hackers Go To Jail?

Two other Overwatch hackers face sentences earlier in 2018. The first is the recipient of two years probation, while the other faces 10 million won or $10,000 USD fine. There are actually a total of thirteen hackers arrested in January by Korean police. However, the other 10 still are awaiting sentencing.

The hacker who wrote the program received a much harsher sentence due to the amount of money he earned. Plus, according to SBS news, he has been selling the program for a while. Blizzard Entertainment is actually working hand-in-hand with Seoul’s National Police Agency cybersecurity division in order to catch these hackers. Other than programs which provide significant advantage to players, other common eSports crimes include boosting (another player, usually a pro playing a person’s account to boost rankings), and match-fixing.