- The Entertainment Software Association has demanded action against providers of hacks and pirated software
- The trade association envisions labeling distributors of such content as “notorious markets”
- This will allow the US government to take action against them even if they are based overseas
The Entertainment Software Association has requested the US government to take more action against notorious markets that distribute cheating engines and pirated software.
The ESA Demands Action to be Taken
Entertainment Software Association, the trade association of big game developers in the United States, has appealed to the government. The association demands action against all websites that offer pirated video games and/or cheating software.
Hacking in video games has always been a big topic but that has been especially pronounced in recent years. Some games, especially free-to-play titles, have become borderline unplayable because of high cheater populations.
Hacking and piracy oftentimes go hand in hand and most often are available on the same sites, which is exactly what sparked action on the ESA’s side. The association seeks action against big torrent sites that offer cracked games and hacks.
The ESA hopes that the US government will heed its demand and help to maintain the integrity of competitive online games. This will benefit both developers and fans since developers will not have their content stolen and gamers will have a healthy competitive gaming experience.
The ESA Asks for Cheat Distributors to be Labeled as Notorious Markets
The demands of the association are available on the piracy and digital rights news outlet TorrentFreak for everyone to read.
“The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) regards the review of notorious markets as an important opportunity to shed light on markets that facilitate mass infringement or counterfeiting of industry products and services and that remain either sheltered from or impervious to, the deterrent effects of enforcement actions,” the request reads.
The association’s point is that some sites are currently outside of the US government’s jurisdiction as they are oftentimes based overseas. The ESA envisions classifying those sites as “notorious markets” in order to enable action against their offerings. It listed some of the major such sites in hopes of sparking action against them.
“The resulting Notorious Markets List provides important insights that allow national and local policymakers, as well as law enforcement officials, in other countries to evaluate and fairly demand accountability from these markets and the services that support them, including through appropriate enforcement actions,” the ESA concluded.
The ESA is comprised of most of the big gaming companies in the United States, such as Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Bandai Namco and Nintendo, among others.
