Activision has filed a lawsuit against the creator of Call of Duty hacking software Lergware and GameHook.
As seen by IGN, the lawsuit was filed in the Central District of California against Ryan Rothholz.
The firm alleges that Rothholz developed and released Lergware between 2021 and 2022, and sold it to players on his website.
It also alleged that Rothholz updated the software to be compatible with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone in 2023.
As a result, Activision sent a cease and desist letter, which the company claims Rothholz posted on a Discord server and “openly mocked” the publisher.
“The update resulted in online player ‘attacks’ becoming increasingly frequent, causing some users to post warning messages online,” Activision said.
The company also accused Rothholz as creating GameHook, and alleged he recruited others including Collin ‘Cid’ Gyetvai and Jordan ‘Bossnight55’ Newcombe Boothey to resell the software for $50 a game or $375 for lifetime access.
“Activision is informed and believes, and on the basis alleges, that the defendants have received significant revenue from their activities, to the detriment of Activision and its player community,” the lawsuit read.
The firm said it had given those named the opportunity to respond to its demands of removing the software, but alleges that “each has ignored Activision’s outreach necessitating this lawsuit.”
Activision sent further cease and desist letters in March 2025. Online storefronts for Lergware and GameHook were shut down as a result, but Activision alleged that the defendants’ did not confirm if they’d stop creating or selling the software.
The publisher alleges that Rothholz, Gyetvai, and Boothey are continuing to distribute or sell the hack through private channels and servers.
As IGN reports, Activision is seeking “monetary damages, injunctive and other equitable relief, and punitive damages”.
“Activision works very hard to ensure that CoD games offer consistently compelling player experiences so that customers will remain engaged in CoD games, continue to play them for sustained periods of time, and be excited about future releases,” the company said.
“If players perceive that a game is unfair or that the multiplayer experience is not working properly, including because others are cheating or disrupting and/or hacking multiplayer servers, players may grow more frustrated with the CoD games, become less interested in playing and supporting them and may even stop playing entirely.”
It concluded: “Cheating and hacking therefore not only harms (and could even destroy) CoD player communities, but also impacts Activision’s ability to offer the fast paced, stable, high-quality online gameplay millions of fans have come to expect from Activision and the CoD games.”
Last May, Activision was awarded $14.4 million in damages and $292,912 in legal fees against cheats manufacturer EngineOwning.