What just happened? Cheaters are the bane of both developers and gamers alike. Epic Games doesn't take such transgressions lightly and has just delivered a harsh lesson to a Fortnite player who thought they could game the system.
The saga centers around Morgan "RepulseGod" Bamford, a Fortnite pro who apparently missed the memo on fair play. According to reports, RepulseGod shared his Epic Games account credentials with another player, Forbes, in an attempt to unfairly qualify for the Fortnite Championship Series grand finals.
Epic wasn't having any of it. The company swiftly disqualified RepulseGod from the tournament, which featured a massive $4 million prize pool. But that wasn't all – Epic also took legal action against him, forcing him to return any ill-gotten gains and issue a public apology.
The apology came in the form of a 15-second text-based video, notably without RepulseGod appearing in it himself.
"I shared my Epic Games Account with another user, Forbes, to qualify for the 2024 Fortnite Championship Series grand finals. My actions violated Epic's rules and I was disqualified from the tournament," it read.
RepulseGod also acknowledged the legal consequences of his actions, including a lifetime ban from Fortnite tournaments and a monetary settlement. Epic stated that any unearned prize money from the settlement would be donated to charity. He concluded his apology by admitting that cheating in tournaments undermines the integrity of the competition and ruins the experience for players who rightfully earned their spots.
While the exact amount RepulseGod was forced to return remains unknown, reports suggest that he and Forbes had earned approximately $10,000 for qualifying for the grand finals before being disqualified.
For a player who had been competing in the Fortnite pro scene since 2019 – racking up multiple wins and a second-place finish at the 2020 FNCS Invitational Grand Finals in Oceania – this dramatic fall from grace serves as a stark cautionary tale.
Epic made their stance clear in a post on the Fortnite Competitive X account: "Cheating is never a winning strat. We took legal action against a player who shared their account to unfairly qualify for FNCS. Now they're banned from Fortnite tournaments forever and their undeserved prize money was donated to charity."
Cheating is never a winning strat.
– Fortnite Competitive (@FNCompetitive) February 17, 2025
We took legal action against a player who shared their account to unfairly qualify for FNCS. Now they're banned from Fortnite tournaments forever and their undeserved prize money was donated to charity.
Here's their message to the Fortnite…
The gaming community has largely celebrated this public shaming, with esports analysts praising Epic's hardline approach as a potential deterrent for future cheaters.
Esports insider Rod "Slasher" Breslau remarked that if every game developer took legal action and publicly exposed cheaters, the industry could be cleaned up within six months.
While that may be an optimistic timeline, one thing is certain: Epic has made it clear that cheaters will be caught, punished, and publicly held accountable.
Epic sues Fortnite cheater, forces public apology and financial penalty
