The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finally begun to pay out part of the $520 million settlement from its 2022 Epic Games and Fortnite lawsuit. More than $72 million has been dished out to those affected by “dark patterns” or “tricked” into making unwanted purchases.
However, the full $520 million isn’t entirely set aside for refunding players. Instead, Epic’s cash has been split in half, with the rest going to pay off penalties from the FTC. In 2022, the FTC sought to take Epic to task for its handling of data from those 13 and under, as well as its design philosophies.
The agency said that the way Fortnite was designed was to effectively “trick” players into making unwanted purchases. In its complaint, the FTC said these “dark patterns” were allowing players to make “unwanted purchases”, as well as giving children carte blanche to “rack up unauthorized charges without any parental involvement.”
These dark patterns could be anything from a button placed in an easily accessible location, or providing no parental consent warnings before purchases.
Fortnite FTC payout finally hits two years later
Fortnite is one of the biggest games to date, accumulating billions per year since it launched the Battle Royale mode in 2017. The game was originally in development hell, announced in 2011 as a co-op survival game.
This was eventually released but to a muted reception. After the massive success of Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (now known just as PUBG), Epic pivoted to the battle royale genre, where 100 players must duke it out for survival.
Since then, Fortnite has become a staple of the live service industry, with dozens of games chasing after its success. It has released a dedicated LEGO game, as well as introducing games released within Fortnite. On top of this, it regularly has high-value crossovers.
However, its huge popularity with children and teens raised suspicions of the FTC, which eventually cracked down on Epic after multiple complaints. Part of these complaints was the banning of accounts and ignoring those with issues around payments.
How to get a Fortnite FTC refund
To claim your PayPal payment or cash cheque from the FTC Fortnite payment, you’ll need to sign up through their website. This will require your Epic Account ID, which the FTC provides a guide for those without an email from them on how to find. You’ll also need to be in the US.
You can also still make a complaint.
Am I eligible for the Fortnite FTC refund?
Here are the requirements to be eligible:
- Charged for in-game currency for items that you didn’t want between January 2017 and September 2022
- You were locked out of your account after complaining to your credit card company between January 2017 and September 2022
- Your child made charges to your card without your prior knowledge between January 2017 and November 2018
Featured image: Fortnite, FTC, Epic Games
