The ax has fallen for Fortnite and Epic Games is being sentenced to pay a simply insane fine.
After the lawsuit started in 2019, a lawsuit against Epic Games has been pending for some time and was only recently accepted. A lengthy debate ensued between Epic Games and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), which ended in an agreement between the two parties.
Fortnite accused of abusing its recent users
On the main routes Fourteen days has been accused of urging young users to buy and having an intentionally inconsistent user interface to facilitate unwanted transactions. As a bonus, the game has been criticized by Epic Games for putting gamers, children and young people at risk, for example by automatically connecting them to online text and voice chats without their consent. What, according to FTCShe would have already done a lot of harm like “harassment and verbal or sexual assault”.
Finally, the FTC condemns Epic for knowingly using the personal information of very young users without parental consent, which is also typically required here. In other words, Fortnite is stuck in gravy and now Epic must answer for its actions. What he has agreed to do.
After several days of debate, the penalty for the industry giant has finally fallen and Epic Games must therefore pay a fine of 520 million dollars. Yes, half a billion dollars, of which $275 million is earmarked for player refunds, which will be dealt with by the FTC a little later. The American Commission is also pleased to have accomplished a real feat, because this agreement is the largest the organization has ever recorded. It must also be said that there were many complaints.
Epic Games’ Response to Microtransactions…
For its part, Epic Games shared a press release to take stock and clarify certain points. In particular, the giant says it has accepted the FTC agreement to set an example for the rest of the industry and will seek to strengthen and change some of its methods. The first changes should also arrive shortly.
No developer creates a game with the intention of finding themselves in this situation. Laws written decades ago do not define how gaming ecosystems should function. The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and longstanding industry practices are no longer sufficient. We entered into this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and to provide the best experience for our players.
Saving default payment information is a common practice to make the process more convenient so players don’t have to re-enter their details every time they make a purchase. We have agreed with the FTC to change this practice and we now offer an explicit “yes or no” choice for the recording of payment information.
Pressing a single button for a quick purchase is one of the most used mechanisms in the industry and one of the easiest online purchases to make. However, we don’t want players to pay for something they had no intention of paying for. We’ve updated our payment methods with a new option that will again ask the player for confirmation before making a purchase. This serves as an extra safeguard to avoid accidental purchases. It will also be possible to cancel instant purchases and self-service refunds.
… and when it comes to the protection of minors
On the other hand, Epic Games denies certain allegations made by the FTC, particularly regarding the use of personal data and the protection of young players, but reiterates that there is still a lot of work to be done on this side. He also explains that he has implemented many parental control options and a large number of protection settings Fourteen days.
Young players who are interested in certain popular games always find ways to access them. Developers must proactively create age-appropriate ways for players to enjoy their games. We recently introduced a new type of Epic account that offers young gamers a customized, safe and inclusive experience. Players under the age of 13 (age depends on their country’s laws) can play Fortnite but must obtain parental consent. You can then play the game in a personalized environment where certain features such as chat and purchases are disabled. In September we implemented high privacy settings by default for players under the age of 18. And players under the age of 16 also have a text chat censorship filter enabled by default.
The old status quo of trading and private data in video games has changed, and many developer practices should be reconsidered. We share the underlying principles of fairness, transparency, and privacy that the FTC upholds, and the practices that the FTC’s complaints relate to are inconsistent with how Fortnite operates. We’ll continue to be honest about what players can expect when making a purchase, make sure cancellations and refunds are easy, and have safeguards in place that allow our ecosystem to keep it safe and fun for viewers of all ages.
Indeed, the condemnation (or approval depending on your point of view) of Epic Games should serve as a model for the rest of the industry and could even have repercussions for other games in the medium or long term. Whether this will cause certain practices to disappear or at least become fully transparent remains to be seen.
It’s not the first time, however, that a game has caused a scandal due to its practices deemed dubious or simply inadequate.
We still remember the disastrous launch of Star Wars Battlefront 2 and its loot boxes, or more recently the controversies surrounding Diablo Immortal and, to a lesser extent, Overwatch 2. If the law, the FTC, or some other organization didn’t necessarily back it up Theme every time, players just can’t take it anymore and are becoming less and less tolerant of this type of content. Paradoxically, microtransactions, season passes and other battle passes have never been so numerous and popular. So maybe a middle way should be found.
