How Fortnite players and parents can easily claim refunds – a complete guide!

UPDATE


Sep 20, 2023 4:16 PM CDT

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated contact with 37 million individuals to inform them about the possibility of receiving refunds for in-game purchases made in the popular online game Fortnite. Last year, Epic Games agreed to pay a settlement of $520 million, out of which $245 million is allocated for refunds. This settlement was reached due to the company’s violation of children’s privacy and its deceptive practices in persuading players to make purchases, according to the BBC. The FTC has provided details about the refund process, which can be found here. Refunds can be requested if individuals were charged for unwanted items between January 2017 and September 2022, or if their credit card was used by their child without their knowledge between January 2017 and November 2018. Users who experienced account locks after reporting charges to their credit card companies are also eligible for refunds.

Dec 19, 2022 1:15 PM CST

Epic Games, the video game company behind Fortnite, has agreed to pay a total of $520 million in penalties and refunds to resolve complaints related to children’s privacy and manipulative tactics that misled players into making unintended purchases. As reported by the AP, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) secured these record-breaking settlements in two separate cases against Epic Games Inc. FTC Chair Lina Khan stated that Epic Games employed privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces, especially targeting teenagers and children.

The company is refunding $245 million to customers who fell victim to so-called “dark patterns” and deceptive billing practices. “Dark patterns” refers to deceptive online techniques used to manipulate users into taking actions they did not intend to. In the case of Fortnite, the FTC revealed that the game’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration resulted in players unknowingly incurring charges with a simple button press. Charges occurred when attempting to wake the game from sleep mode, during loading screens, or even while trying to preview an item. The FTC stated that these manipulative tactics led to unauthorized charges amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars for consumers.

Epic Games has acknowledged its past mistakes regarding the design of the Fortnite item shop and refund systems, and it is making the payment to address these concerns. The company stated that it will leave it to the FTC to distribute the money to Epic Games customers at their discretion. Additionally, Epic Games noted that the constantly evolving nature of the gaming industry means that the application of existing laws has changed, and outdated industry practices are no longer sufficient. In the second case, Epic Games has also agreed to pay a $275 million fine for collecting personal information from Fortnite players under the age of 13 without informing parents or obtaining their consent. This penalty represents the largest ever issued for an FTC violation. (Read more about Epic Games here.)