Fortnite developers Epic Games has been ordered to submit a $245 Million refund to players for tricking them into unwanted purchases.
The world-famous game Fortnite is in the hot waters. The Federal Trade Commission has ordered Fortnite developer Epic Games to pay out $245 Million in refunds to the players tricked into making unwanted purchases under the dark patterns.
This decision is followed by a settlement package from December in which Epic Games was fined a hefty amount of $520 Million against the allegations of violating data privacy with unintentional charges. As stated in the FTC’s release,
Under the FTC’s order, Epic must pay $245 million, which will be used to provide refunds to consumers. The order also prohibits Epic from charging consumers through the use of dark patterns or from otherwise charging consumers without obtaining their affirmative consent. Additionally, the order bars Epic from blocking consumers from accessing their accounts for disputing unauthorized charges.
According to the released issue from the FTC, Epic Games used “dark patterns” via Fortnite to entrap children and users of various ages into purchasing unwanted in-game content, which was a direct fraud. These purchases were made under a single-button click without parental or guardian approval warning, making children spend their bucks.
So basically, most kids made these purchases without knowledge of scamming or phishing, leading them to buy in-game content from the Item Shop. After the fine settlement, FTC forces Epic Games to change their business practices to set some terms and conditions for the purchases. So further on, some changes are expected, like ‘holding a button’ to purchase in the item shop instead of the ‘single press.’
The heavy 245 million Dollars paid by the Epic Games will go to The Federal Trade Commission, which will be further refunded to those affected by the misleading purchase on Fortnite. FTC has mentioned a clear refund policy for those who think the Item Shop purchases scammed them.
