The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will soon issue payments totaling more than $72 million to players it says were “defrauded” by Fortnite developer Epic Games – with more on the way.
The organization shared its plans to refund players affected by unfair microtransaction practices message on your website. The money will be included in the settlement, which was originally disclosed in delayed 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 creating unwanted purchases, allowing children to receive unauthorized charges without parental involvement, and blocking certain users who dispute unauthorized charges from accessing purchased content.”
The FTC says it is disbursing 629,344 payments today and will send additional payments “at a later date.” The average payment is $114 and is delivered via PayPal and cashier’s checks. Previously participating consumers have selected their preferred payment method when submitting their claim form and have 30 days to process payments made via PayPal and 60 days to cash checks. If you feel you have been affected, you can do so this link to submit your claim form.
“Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy violations and dark patterns is a top priority for the Commission,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said at the time, “and these enforcement actions make it clear to companies that the FTC is cracking down on these illegal practices.”
At the time of the FTC’s decision, Epic released its own statement on the matter. IN message posted on its websitethe company promised to move away from “long-standing industry practices.”
“We share the fundamental principles of fairness, transparency and privacy enforced by the FTC, and the practices referenced in the FTC complaints do not reflect how Fortnite operates,” Epic said. “We will continue to be open about what players can expect when making purchases, provide easy cancellations and refunds, and build safeguards that help keep our ecosystem safe and fun for audiences of all ages.”
Despite heavy fines from the FTC, Epic continues to make more Fortnite content available to its millions of fans. The company launched last week Fortnite ANDversion of the Battle Royale gameplay that aims to revitalize the early version of the game. Competitive mode from a first-person perspective Ballistic Fortnite will be released in early access on December 11, 2024.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor to IGN. He began writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work on outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP and Gameranx.
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