Epic Games is suing former QA contractor Thomas Hannah after they reportedly broke NDA back in April and leaked information surrounding Fortnite's season four Battle Pass and meteor event, saying the spoilers have contributed to "irreparable injury" for the studio.
As reported by Polygon, Hannah filed a defense to Epic’s claims earlier in the week, claiming he didn't work with a third party to release the information, and that he had no indication that person would do so.
Hannah’s reply to Epic’s civil suit claims the third person, who is not named, “pumped [Hannah] with a series of questions and guesses regarding where the meteor would hit,” toward the end of Fortnite season three, including information about the comet which appeared in the event.
However, Epic claims that Hannah provided that secret and season four’s superheroes theme to an intermediary who then published them to the subreddit, although the account and text of that post have since been deleted.
It should be worth noting that Epic accuses Hannah of intentionally working with a third person to spread the information. However, Hannah likens it to a private conversation whose outcome he had no involvement in or control over.
The Reddit post's claim to provide more spoilers and predictions was reportedly done without Hannah’s participation or knowledge, although Hannah does admit the conversation did violate NDA, making statements without Epic’s authorization or consent.
Epic sued Hannah on May 7, stating that the leaked details have caused irreparable injury that cannot be compensated with money. Epic's compliant is seeking punitive damages under state and federal trade secrets laws, plus attorney’s fees.
For those interested, Epic's suit can be viewed here and Hannah's reply (which was filed June 21) can be viewed here.