Activision has reportedly sent legal paperwork to one of the most famous controller adapter manufacturers, Cronus.
Originally known for the Cronus Max, Cronus now sells a device called the Cronus Zen. They share this description of the Cronus Zen on their website:
Embrace the freedom of choice with Cronus Zen, designed to seamlessly integrate with all major gaming consoles, including:
- PlayStation 5
- PlayStation 4 Pro
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 3
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
- Xbox One X
- Xbox One S
- Xbox One
- Xbox 360
- Nintendo Switch
No matter your device, we’ve got you covered! Cronus Zen supports all official controllers across all its supported platforms, including:
- Sony DualSense
- Sony DualShock 4/3
- Xbox Series X|S
- Xbox 360, Elite S1 & S2
- Nintendo Switch Wireless/Joy Cons
- Nintendo Wii-Mote & Wii U Pro
Zen also supports most third-party licensed brands, including Astro, Corsair, Logitech, Nacon, Razer, Scuf, and many more.
Cronus is in the center of a debate between cheating and accessibility. Transparently, Cronus’ devices can be used so that players can get an advantage over others in online games. On the flip side, these devices can also help disabled players get new options and opportunities to play video games, including multiplayer games. What never gets talked about in this debate is if Cronus has taken action to pivot their products to help disabled players instead of enabling cheaters. For example, they can work with game console companies and game developers, so that games recognize when a Cronus device is being used. Each studio can then choose if disabled players get scored differently, if they get monitored if they’re secretly cheaters, etc.
This takes us to today, as CharlieIntel posted this on Twitter:
Activision has sent a cease and desist letter to the manufacturer of Cronus hardware in attempt to stop the company from selling their Cronus Zen hardware in attempt to further crack down on Call of Duty cheaters.
CharlieIntel also refers to a recent RICOCHET update that they:
have delivered cease and desist demands to several companies that create and sell these products and will take them to court if necessary.
Unfortunately, we were not able to verify this information with Cronus themselves. They do not have any updates about this on their website or their Twitter account. Their website has links to Facebook and YouTube, but they have nuked both social media channels. We were able to join their Discord, and there are members talking about this news. However, as of this writing, Cronus has not shared an official announcement confirming or denying this report.
It’s certainly credible that Activision has communicated to Cronus, but neither Activision nor Cronus have officially named each other about this or other potential legal actions. We think that CharlieIntel is reporting in good faith, but the credibility of their source can only be corroborated when the two companies confirm that that cease and desist has been sent.
If Cronus is subject to RICOCHET’s new actions, many other video game accessories and related products can also be subject to these actions. We expect that if Activision will not tell us about this in the coming days, some legal actions will eventually surface for the public to confirm it.
