Court Should Dismiss 'Candy Crush' Fraud Case, Compel Claims to Arbitration, Says Activision

The court should dismiss a fraud class action against game developer King and Activation Blizzard and compel it to arbitration, said Activision's motion to dismiss (docket 3:23-cv-00314) Monday in U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia in Richmond. Plaintiff Sorina Montoya claimed the defendants misled her and other players participating in a March mobile game tournament (see 2305110011). Activision seeks to have the case compelled to individual arbitration, dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction or transferred to U.S. District Court for Central California.

Montoya sued game developer King and Activision Blizzard in May, saying the defendants misled contestants about their odds of winning a mobile game tournament to get them to spend more on in-app purchases. The tournament, which began in March, advertised $250,000 in prizes and an expense-paid trip to London for 10 finalists, plus championship rings with a combined value of $72,900. Montoya spent over $3,000 and close to 100 hours on the tournament by April 21, said her complaint.

The complaint alleged that “Super Users,” who built up multiplier rewards in the game over several years, had an advantage over typical users in the tournament. The complaint cited a participant on a community forum who accrued more points than other players due to a point multiplier advantage. His point total could look like a bot total to other players, the user conceded, saying his 30x point multiplier, not available to ordinary contestants, was “not really within the spirit of the game.”

In the memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss, Activision said when Montoya didn’t win, “she sued.” The memorandum noted that the game, Candy Crush, is free-to-play and that the “All Stars” tournament had no entry fee. Montoya “elected to make in-game purchases to ‘outcompete others’ and ‘boost her chances of winning,” it said. Her pay-to-win strategy failed when she was unable to keep up with competitors, it said.

Montoya chose to make the in-game purchases allegedly without knowing the number of other competitors, the potential that competitors “may try to cheat,” that the competition included long-time players with “enhanced in-game abilities, and the real-time scores of competitors who played offline, said the memorandum. She claimed she was unable to make an “informed decision” about whether to make in-app purchases, it said: “She spent the money anyway.”

Before playing Candy Crush, players must agree, and confirm they agree, to King’s terms of service, said the memorandum. They cannot avoid the popup screen and to continue playing, they have to confirm that they agree to terms. Terms contain binding alternative dispute resolution requirements and class-action waivers. The agreement states that the arbitrator -- and not any federal, state or local court or agency -- has exclusive authority "to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of this Agreement,” it said.