Summary

  • Epic Games faces legal action over Fortnite's Item Shop tactics, being accused of creating fake urgency.
  • Epic responded to the lawsuit, stating it contained factual errors and does not reflect how Fortnite operates.
  • Last year, Fortnite implemented safeguards to prevent accidental purchases and highlighted parental control features.

Epic Games, the creator of the popular battle royale game Fortnite, faces legal action from two parents who filed a lawsuit in a San Francisco court. The lawsuit centers on Fortnite's Item Shop, accusing it of unfair practices, while Epic Games has also issued a statement in response.

Epic Games, the American video game powerhouse launched by Tim Sweeney in 1991, has climbed to the top of the industry - not just for dropping hits like Fortnite, but for building the Unreal Engine, a serious tool that studios everywhere rely on. The company pushed further with the Epic Games Store, a digital shop going head-to-head with platforms like Steam. Even with all that success, Epic had its share of courtroom fights, including some big ones against tech giants Apple and Google. In 2020, Epic took a swing at both, saying their grip on app stores and payments was a monopoly that had to go.

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Now, the company is in hot water once again over how it sells in-game items. A lawsuit filed on March 5 accuses Epic of using shady sales tactics in Fortnite’s Item Shop, especially when it comes to younger players. The 21-page complaint states that Epic intentionally creates fake urgency by slapping countdown timers on items, making players think they need to buy now or lose their chance forever. But, according to the lawsuit, that’s not actually true. Once the timers hit zero, the items often stick around, and the discounts don’t always go away either. The lawsuit says this whole thing isn’t just shady, it straight up violates consumer protection laws by pushing fake sales and misleading advertising.

Epic Games Responds to Lawsuit

Epic Games didn’t waste much time firing back at the lawsuit. In a statement to Polygon, the company pushed back against the claims, saying, "This complaint contains factual errors and does not reflect how Fortnite operates." Epic pointed out that they actually removed the controversial Fortnite countdown timer from the Item Shop last year and rolled out a bunch of safeguards to prevent accidental purchases. Some of those changes include a hold-to-purchase feature, instant cancelations, self-service refunds, and a clear option for players to decide whether they want to save their payment info. Epic also stressed that players under 13 can’t spend real money without parental approval, and even then, parents have control through PIN-protected purchases.

Where this lawsuit goes from here is anyone’s guess, but it is worth noting that Epic Games has faced scrutiny before over its in-game sales tactics. In May last year, Dutch regulators fined Epic Games over $1.2 million for alleged child safety violations in Fortnite's Item Shop. It's worth noting that Epic appealed the decision, which is currently still pending at the time of writing.

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Fortnite
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Survival
Battle Royale
Shooter
Action
Adventure
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Systems
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Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
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Released
September 26, 2017
ESRB
T for Teen - Diverse Content: Discretion Advised, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
Developer(s)
Epic Games
Publisher(s)
Epic Games
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DIGITAL
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Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play
All platforms (except iOS/Mac)
Cross Save
Via Epic Account
Number of Players
1-4 players (online)
Genre(s)
Survival, Battle Royale, Shooter, Action, Adventure
X|S Optimized
YES
Local Co-Op Support
1-4 players (certain modes)
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty