The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is distributing over $72 million in Epic Game Fortnite refunds for the company’s use of dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases.
This is part of the record-breaking $245 million settlement the agency reached with the game publisher in December 2022.
The settlement addressed allegations that Epic Games used « dark patterns » to trick players into unwanted purchases.
« The FTC alleged that Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration led players of all ages to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button, » reads the FTC press release.
« For example, players could be charged while attempting to wake the game from sleep mode, while the game was in a loading screen, or by pressing an adjacent button while attempting simply to preview an item.
Additionally, Epic Games was accused of allowing unauthorized charges by children and restricting access to purchased content for users who disputed those charges.
Fortnite players receive first $72M
The FTC announced that the first round of refunds has started. 629,344 Fortnite players who previously submitted a request for reimbursement will receive an average of $114.
Those who opted for PayPal payments are given 30 days to redeem the amount, while those who chose emailed checks have 90 days to cash the checks.
Questions about the payment and refund process should be directed to 1-833-915-0880 or by email at admin@fortniterefund.com. The FTC has also set up a FAQ page here.
If you’re an adult who got charged in-game currency for unwanted items on Fortnite between January 2017 and September 2022, your child made unauthorized charges to your credit card between January 2017 and November 2018, or your account was locked between January 2017 and September 2022 after disputing wrongful charges, you may be eligible for a refund.
If you fall in any of the above categories, you can submit an application on FTC’s form page, which will be evaluated for future refund rounds.
The FTC notes that submitting a claim will not impact your Epic Games account or any items you have purchased in Fortnite.
Valid claims containing Epic Account IDs will be accepted until January 10, 2025. FTC says the total payout will depend on the number of validated claims.
Beware of scammers using FTC’s refund round to trick people into giving away personal information, account passwords, or money under the pretense of ‘clearance fees.’
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