Epic Games is no stranger to dealing with cheaters in Fortnite, often pursuing them in court and demanding public apologies. However, a recent case takes things to an entirely new level, involving two individuals accused of exploiting Fortnite’s Creator Program by artificially inflating their player numbers with thousands of bots.
The Alleged Botting Operation
According to a new legal filing in Michigan, Epic Games accuses Idris Nahdi and Ayob Nasser of using over 20,000 bots between December 2024 and February 2025 to falsify engagement statistics on their custom Fortnite maps, known as islands.
These user-created islands are part of Fortnite’s Creator Program, which pays developers based on factors such as playtime, player activity, and in-game purchases. With millions of dollars distributed each year, the incentive for legitimate creators is substantial — but Epic alleges that Nahdi and Nasser decided to take a shortcut.
“Defendants programmed the bot accounts to engage with Defendants’ own Fortnite Islands by using a cloud gaming service that allows users to play video games, like Fortnite, remotely,” the filing states.
Epic claims that the duo spread their fake engagement across multiple developer accounts and maps to disguise the scheme, with between 88% and 99% of their engagement believed to have been generated by bots.
Profits, Detection, and Fallout
The two allegedly made tens of thousands of dollars through the fraudulent activity before Epic’s systems detected irregular patterns and halted payments. Following the discovery, Epic instructed the pair to stop playing Fortnite and “destroy all copies” of the game in their possession. When they ignored the request, Epic escalated the matter legally.
The company argues that this kind of manipulation damages trust between Epic and its legitimate creators, depriving honest developers of earnings they deserve.
“Developers trust that the time spent creating Islands will be rewarded in accordance with the Engagement Program Payout Terms,” Epic’s lawyers wrote. “Defendants’ conduct undermines Epic’s relationship with developers, depriving legitimate developers of the full share of funds they otherwise would have received.”
What Epic Wants from the Lawsuit
Epic Games is seeking to recover the money paid to the defendants and is asking the court to permanently ban both individuals from creating new Epic accounts or accessing Fortnite. The company even went so far as to request that these restrictions apply to their “heirs and successors.”
While that particular demand is unlikely to be enforced, it underscores how seriously Epic takes threats to the integrity of its Creator Program. The studio aims to send a clear message: exploiting the system for profit won’t just get you banned — it could land you in court.
