A few days ago, another company profiting from the misery of FPS players around the world closed its doors: after receiving a legal warning from Activision, cheat maker Raging Nation has shut down its website.

The site, which previously distributed Aimbot, Wallhack, and all manner of cheat-face "products," today posts the following terse statement: "Someone associated with our business has received a legal notice from Activision. While we may not agree with the allegations in this legal demand, we are in no position to fight with such a large company. It is with no pleasure that we inform you that we are closing our business as of today."

Whether they agree or not, they will join the growing community of recently struck-down bottom-line companies. A lawsuit by Activision and Bungie, claiming millions of dollars in damages, establishes a precedent in an area that has historically been a quagmire.

There are, of course, no laws against cheating in video games. The surest method these companies have used to combat hackers is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits, among other things, circumvention of technical means to access copyrighted works. So far, this has proven to be the best recourse against the efforts of the bad guys.

Of course, even with high-profile victories in court, there are also losses. Jurisdiction can be difficult to establish in such cases. For example, in Bunge v. Thorpe, Bunge was denied a motion for lack of personal jurisdiction because the defendant was not a California resident.

Also, even with a winning judgment, satisfaction can be hard to come by; Activision's landmark case against EngineOwning, in which it won $14.5 million, was defiant on the part of the defendants; when we reported on the case in May, the cheat-maker had moved from Germany to Dubai based in Dubai and said that "business as usual for EngineOwning will continue."

Efforts to stop cheaters are multi-pronged, including legal action, anti-cheat software, and sometimes efforts by entire communities of players.