In an exclusive statement to Gamingonphone, Michael Zilmer, COO and Co-founder of InnoGames, which developed the popular online multiplayer title Forge of Empires, has responded to the Federal court’s verdict on the recent Forge of Empires addiction lawsuit filed by a disgruntled gamer.
Forge of Empires was accused of psychological manipulation
The plaintiff had supposedly been an avid player of the popular multiplayer title Forge of Empires, allegedly recording over 10,000 hours in the game. It is said that she played the game almost every day without interruption from 2016 until 2019 when she was banned.
The player accused InnoGames of “psychologically manipulating” their audience using microtransactions and attributed it to the fact that she had spent a whopping 9,000 dollars on in-game microtransactions alone over the course of her three-year playing period.
Additionally, the plaintiff also accused the company of creating what she termed as an unsafe environment for female players and said that she was subjected to harassment repeatedly. She accused InnoGames of refusing to do anything to stop the harassment even though she had brought up the issue with the developers directly. She further accused InnoGames of targeting her for harsher enforcement.
InnoGames naturally were quick to deny the allegations and will feel vindicated after the latest federal court ruling threw out the lawsuit. Chief District Judge Ricardo S Martinez upheld the motion by InnoGames to dismiss the banned gamers’ complaint after reviewing all the pleadings and records.
Statement from Michael Zilmer to GamingonPhone
Michael Zilmer, COO and Co-founder of InnoGames said this in an exclusive statement to Gamingonphone: “Unsurprisingly, we are very happy with the Court’s ruling that we were right to ban Ms. Quinteros from playing Forge of Empires because of the numerous obscene or otherwise offensive messages she had sent to our in-game moderators. These moderators work hard to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all players of the game and we consider it our duty to protect them from such unacceptable behavior. To do so, we will never shy away from legal action, no matter how lengthy or costly.”
What do you think about the Federal Court’s ruling in the Forge of Empires lawsuit? Let us know in the comments below!
For more Mobile Gaming news and updates, join our WhatsApp group, Telegram Group, or Discord server. Also, follow us on Google News, Instagram, and Twitter for quick updates.
