The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will soon deliver payments totaling in more than $72 million to gamers it says were “tricked” by Fortnite developer Epic Games – and more is on the way.
The organization shared its plans to refund players affected by what was determined to be unfair microtransaction practices in a message on its website. The cash is included in a settlement that was originally revealed in late 2022. As the post explains, at the time, Epic was required to pay $245 million to resolve claims that it “used design tactics known as dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases, let children rack up unauthorized charges without any parental involvement, and blocked some users who disputed unauthorized charges from accessing their purchased content.”
The FTC says it is distributing 629,344 payments today and will send additional payments “at a later date.” The average payment comes in at $114 and is being delivered via PayPal and cash checks. Consumers involved in settlement payouts thus far chose their preferred payment method when submitting a claims form and have 30 days to redeem payments made through PayPal and 60 days to cash their checks. If you feel you were affected, you can follow this link to submit a claims form.
We reported on the fines Epic had been asked to pay when it was announced in December 2022. In addition to the aforementioned $245 million in refunds related to dark patterns, the Fortnite developer was also fined $275 million for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection [COPPA] rule, bringing the total to more than $520 million.
“Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is a top priority for the Commission,” FTC chair Lina Khan said at the time, “and these enforcement actions make clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices.”
At the time of the FTC’s decision, Epic released its own statement on the matter. In the message posted to its website, the company promised to move past “long-standing industry practices.”
“We share the underlying principles of fairness, transparency and privacy that the FTC enforces, and the practices referenced in the FTC’s complaints are not how Fortnite operates,” Epic said. “We will continue to be upfront about what players can expect when making purchases, ensure cancellations and refunds are simple, and build safeguards that help keep our ecosystem safe and fun for audiences of all ages.”
Despite heavy fines from the FTC, Epic is pushing forward with more Fortnite content for its millions of fans. Just last week, the company launched Fortnite OG, a version of its Battle Royale experience that aims to revive an early version of the experience. First-person competitive mode Fortnite Ballistic will launch in early access December 11, 2024.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
