Epic settles lawsuit with former contractor who leaked Fortnite collabs as AdiraFN

Epic Games has reached a proposed settlement with Hayden Cohen, the former contractor it accused in March of being notorious Fortnite leaker AdiraFN. The deal still needs a judge's sign-off before it becomes final.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Cohen is permanently barred from possessing, accessing, using, or disclosing any of Epic's confidential or trade secret information — and from helping anyone else do the same. Epic filed the original lawsuit in March, alleging Cohen had signed an NDA as part of his contractor agreement and then immediately violated it by leaking details of unannounced Fortnite collaborations through anonymous accounts on X and Discord under the AdiraFN handle. Notably, the proposed settlement makes no mention of any monetary penalty, despite Epic's initial complaint seeking compensatory damages, unjust enrichment recovery, and legal fees. Epic director of corporate communications Natalie Munoz confirmed the settlement to PC Gamer, saying the company took action to ensure Cohen "cannot publish or share Epic's confidential information again," but declined to comment further on the absence of financial penalties.

Epic has a track record of pursuing legal action to protect Fortnite's business — it has previously gone after cheaters and won financial awards in those cases. The AdiraFN situation was particularly damaging because the leaks involved partner IP: confidential collaboration details shared with Epic by outside companies under the assumption they'd stay private until announcement. Leaking that kind of information doesn't just spoil surprises for players — it puts Epic's relationships with those partners at risk.

With the injunction in place, AdiraFN's leaking days are legally over, at least under threat of serious legal consequences. Whether the community considers the outcome a strong enough deterrent — given the lack of any financial penalty — is another question entirely.