The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has started sending out email notices about compensation for Fortnite in-game purchases made by teenagers without the consent of their parents. According to reports over thirty-seven million people have been notified about the compensation for the unauthorized purchases.
Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, agreed to $245 million in customer refunds to settle a lawsuit last year. Those eligible for the refunds include those charged for in-game currency that they didn’t want between January 2017 and September 2022. The agreement between the FTC and Epic Games was finalized in March.
The other category of Fortnite players that will share in the refund are those locked out of their accounts between January 2017 and September 2022 after complaining that children made unauthorized purchases on their credit cards. Following the issuance of the customer refund, Epic Games has now introduced a safeguard to avoid such unauthorized purchases.
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In the lawsuit, Epic Games was accused of using “dark patterns and other deceptive practices” to con players into unwanted purchases. The complaint also accused Epic Games of using “a variety of design tricks aimed at getting customers of all ages to make unintended in-game purchases.”
It’s important to mention that affected Fortnite gamers or parents have until January 17, 2024, to claim the refund. Also, to claim the refund, you must be 18 years or older. For those under 18 years, their parents or guardians must complete the claim forms.
How to apply for the Fortnite refund
To apply for the Fortnite refund, those affected are to fill out the online claim form at www.fortniterefund.com/file-a-claim.
You will need either your claim number (which you will find in the email sent by the FTC) or your Epic Account ID to complete the claim form. If you are unsure of where to find your Epic Account ID, follow these steps.
For further inquiry or help with your claim, you have the option to either call 1-833-915-0880 or send an email to admin@fortniterefund.com.
The amount you will get depends on several factors, according to the FTC which includes the number of people that filed a claim. There is no set date yet for the payments. However, the agency’s website will be updated with relevant information as soon as they are available.
A look back at Epic’s many sins
The FTC announced last year that Epic Games had agreed to pay $520 million in penalties to settle complaints around its payment methods and breach of children’s privacy. Out of the total sum, $245 million was for customer refunds.
The money was meant to cover some of the costs of the V-Bucks—Fortnite in-game currency—as well as virtual items like cosmetics or purple llama loot boxes which some gamers were tricked into purchasing.
The remaining $275 million was the fine Epic agreed to pay for allegedly collecting the personal information of Fortnite players below 13 years without their parent or guardian’s consent. Epic’s penalty is the largest ever imposed on a company for breaking an FTC rule.
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According to Epic Games, Fortnite is one of the largest games in the world with more than 350 million accounts and 2.5 billion friend connections. Tencent, the Chinese video game giant, has a 40% stake in Epic Games according to NASDAQ’s website.
Epic Games was founded in 1991 by CEO Tim Sweeney. The American company remains one of the top video game developers in the world. In October 2018, the company received a $1.25 billion investment from seven firms including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Vulcan Capital, aXiomatic, Smash Ventures, ICONIQ Capital, and KKR. That investment pushed its valuation to around $15 billion.
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