FTC Issues Refunds to Epic Games Users After Fortnite Settlement

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States has commenced the distribution of refunds to consumers adversely affected by certain practices employed by Epic Games in the popular game Fortnite. This initiative addresses issues related to unintended purchases of various in-game items, including perks, emotes, and other features.

According to a report from GamesIndustry, the initial wave of payments has been initiated, impacting approximately 629,344 users. These payments consist of both physical checks and PayPal transfers, with an average refund amounting to about $114. Further batches of refunds are planned for distribution in the near future.

This refund issuance is part of a broader settlement agreement reached in December 2022. The FTC alleged that Epic Games employed deceptive strategies that led to unintended purchases of virtual currency within Fortnite. In response to these accusations, Epic Games was ordered to pay a hefty $245 million in penalties, a portion of which is being utilized for these consumer refunds.

However, the FTC’s scrutiny of Epic Games does not stop there. The company also faced charges related to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits the collection of personal data from children under 13 without parental consent. Epic Games was found to have improperly gathered such information from young players of Fortnite and made the process for parents to delete their children’s data overly complicated. For this violation, Epic Games incurred a fine of $275 million, culminating in a total financial penalty of $520 million issued by the FTC.