Hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds will soon be on its way to Fortnite players, thanks to a landmark $520 million dollar settlement announced yesterday.
The settlement with video game developer Epic Games comes after a 2019 investigation by the FTC revealed they used deceptive practices to entice players into making unwanted purchases in Fortnite. According to the FTC, these included “saving payment information by default” and utilizing “confusing” buttons that made it difficult for players to determine what they were actually buying.
Of the settlement, $245 million will go towards refunding consumers who were tricked into making unauthorized charges.
The FTC has identified three groups of consumers who are eligible for refunds:
- Fortnite players who were charged in–game currency (V–Bucks) for unwanted in–game items (such as cosmetics, llamas or battle passes) between January 2017 and September 2022,
- Fortnite players whose accounts were locked between January 2017 and September 2022 after disputing unauthorized charges with their credit card companies.
- Parents whose children made an unauthorized credit card purchase in the Epic Games Store between January 2017 and November 2018,
“We are giving money back to injured consumers as seamlessly as possible,” said James Doty, an FTC attorney.
The FTC has set up the website ftc.gov/fortnite where people can find more information and sign up for email updates about the refund process.
Epic Games has taken steps to ensure that unwanted charges do not occur in the future. It has changed the practice of “saving payment information by default” and instead offers “an explicit yes or no choice to save payment information.” Additionally, Fortnite now has a “hold–to–purchase mechanic” for all in–game purchases, making it easier for players to identify what they are buying.
But hey, if you’re a Fortnite player, go get your money back.
