NewsNational

Actions

Fortnite players getting refunds for being 'tricked' into in-game purchases

The company settled with the Federal Trade Commission two years ago and now the commission has announced it will be sending out over 600,000 payments to gamers or their parents.
1695318546_u58QLf.jpg
Posted

Fortnite players will soon be getting refunds after federal regulators claimed the game's creator, Epic Games, had "tricked" players into making in-game purchases.

The company settled with the Federal Trade Commission two years ago and now the commission announced it will be sending out over 600,000 payments totaling $72 million to gamers or their parents for those who are underage.

The payments are going to players who submitted valid claims before Oct. 8 of this year, but there's still time to submit a claim if you haven't already. Players have until Jan. 10 to file on the FTC's website.

RELATED STORY | FTC unveils new rule that will make it easier for you to cancel subscriptions

Those who submitted claims before the Oct. 8 deadline will receive payments via check or through PayPal, depending on which option they selected.

The FTC said “counterintuitive, inconsistent and confusing button configuration” led to the unwanted purchases.

"The company unlawfully charged players for unwanted purchases, let children rack up unauthorized charges without their parents’ permission and blocked some users who disputed wrongful charges from accessing their purchased content," the agency said.

Epic Games' settlement with the FTC also requires the company to get positive consent before charging users and has banned it from locking players out of their accounts for disputing unauthorized charges.

RELATED STORY | Disney and Fortnite maker Epic Games plan a new $1.5B collaboration