The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it has finalized an order that will see Fortnite developer Epic Games paying out $245 million in refunds to players of the hit Battle Royale game. Epic’s wildly successful free-to-play shooter recently received the Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2 update which saw the introduction of a new cyberpunk city to the map along with a slew of new weapons and items.
Originally released in early access in 2017, Fortnite has grown to become one of the largest properties in gaming. Thanks in part to its wide availability on devices ranging from mobile phones to consoles and a never-ending stream of pop-culture crossovers in Fortnite, Epic’s free-to-play shooter has become synonymous with the battle royale genre in the minds of many gamers. The game’s success, fueled by millions of dollars’ worth of in-game purchases by players every month, has allowed Epic to continue providing massive, free updates to Fortnite that help the game to continually evolve.
As Epic Games’ Fortnite profits have continued to grow, so has scrutiny from financial and consumer regulators both in the US and abroad. Investigations into the company’s business practices in the US came to a head late last year when the FTC ordered Epic to pay out over $520 million as part of a settlement related to the company’s predatory business practices and its failure to protect younger players’ privacy. Part of that larger settlement, the $245 million payout order finalized by the FTC today relates to Epic’s use of “dark patterns” in Fortnite that were designed to cause players to rack up unintended charges.
The “dark pattern” of design tricks that led to the FTC’s order included “counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing” button layouts that made it easy for players to accidentally spend money in Fortnite with a single button press. The FTC further claimed that Epic Games intentionally made it easy for children to spend money in-game without parental permission and that Epic retaliated against players who disputed the erroneous charges by locking those players’ accounts. Epic is required to use the $245 million to issue refunds to consumers who were wrongfully charged, and the company will henceforth be barred from using dark patterns or “otherwise charging consumers without obtaining their affirmative consent.”
For consumers who found themselves facing a mountain of unexpected V-Bucks charges after they or their child decided to hop online for a few rounds of Fortnite, today’s announcement by the FTC should come as welcome news. Now that Epic Games can no longer rely on shady tactics to pad its revenue, hopefully, it will focus on making Fortnite something players want to spend money on intentionally.
Fortnite is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: FTC