The massive game publisher and developer Epic Games has been ordered by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to pay $245 million in refunds to Fortnite players for using "dark patterns to trick players into making unnecessary purchases." The order, which was issued in December, has now been finalised.
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The massive game publisher and developer Epic Games has been ordered by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to pay $245 million in refunds to Fortnite players for using “dark patterns to trick players into making unnecessary purchases.” The order, which was issued in December, has now been finalised.
According to the FTC’s official statement, Epic “deployed a variety of design tricks” to entice customers of all ages, but especially kids, to make unintended in-game purchases. The Commission blamed Epic for making it simple for kids to make purchases without their parents’ permission and cited “Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration” as the cause. If you need more information about Players of Fortnite must receive $245 million in refunds from Epic Games then read carefully and don’t forget to share with your friends.
Customers who believe they have been harmed by the practises can visit the official Fortnite page on the FTC website for more information. The $245 million will be used to refund customers. Along with paying back the money owed, Epic is forbidden from repeating these actions or “charging consumers without obtaining their affirmative consent.” Additionally, the order forbids Epic from denying customers access to their accounts so they can contest charges.
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The FTC settled with Epic in December for a total of $520 million, including the $245 million in refunds brought on by the use of unethical business practises. Epic was also required to pay a fine of $275 million for breaking the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC accused Epic Games of publicly misleading its players into making unauthorised Fortnite in-store purchases in December. Three months later, it has been established that the FTC was correct, and the well-known Battle Royale developers must reimburse the affected players $245 million.
According to the official report released by the FCT, Epic programmed some cheats to allow players of all ages (especially kids) to unintentionally buy skins, dances, and characters within the game. Additionally, they claimed that Epic deceived kids into making purchases they didn’t want to make because of the game’s various confusing settings.There is no question that this creates a great precedent for player rights.
Additionally, it emphasises how crucial it is to protect players’ integrity when it comes to financial transactions in video games like Fortnite, which are unquestionably accessible to everyone. In conclusion, it is important to note that the Fortnite developers raised more than $5 billion through the game in 2018, 2020, and 2021, as was revealed following the trial between Apple and Epic Games in 2021.
The FTC claimed in its initial complaint that Epic automatically enabled real-time voice and text chat for kids and teenagers and collected personal information from children under 13 without receiving verifiable parental consent. Data from the Apple vs. Epic Games trial from back in 2021 revealed that Fortnite brought in more than $5 billion for Epic Games annually in 2018, 2020, and 2021.
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