FTC Sends $126 Million in Refunds to Fortnite Players Who Were Charged for Unwanted Items, Reopens Claims Process
www.ftc.gov
The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $126 million to players of the popular video game Fortnite who were charged for unwanted purchases while playing the game.

The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $126 million to players of the popular video game Fortnite who were charged for unwanted purchases while playing the game.

The agency also announced it is reopening the process for Fortnite gamers and their parents or guardians to submit a claim for compensation stemming from the agency’s 2023 settlement with Fortnite developer Epic Games. The company agreed to pay $245 million to settle the FTC’s allegations that Epic used deceptive practices to trick players into making unwanted purchases.

  • Derin@lemmy.beru.coEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    Good. The fault is absolutely on Epic for not putting in proper confirmation dialogues for spending resources tied to real world currency.

    And, as a former f2p/mobile game dev, I don’t buy the argument of “we didn’t know that would happen!”. They absolutely knew, and were trying their luck.

    Thing is, they most likely made a lot more in erroneous purchases than what they have to pay in reimbursements (think people accidentally pressing a button, making an erroneous purchase, then choosing to “live with it because the amount was small anyway”)… So, in the long run the deceptive practice probably paid off for them.

    Though, I hope this lawsuit dissuades them from trying it again.

    Disclaimer: I know nothing about Epic’s finances, so any assumption made above is just that: a baseless assumption, backed only by the fact I’ve had many similar experiences.