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The FTC’s $275 million proposed settlement with Epic Games, owner of Fortnite, alleges the company violated the law by collecting personal information from kids under 13 without parental consent and by enabling voice and text chat by default – an unfair practice that put kids and teens in risky contact with strangers. But to borrow a phrase from advertisers, “But wait! There’s more!” Much, much more in the form of a separate $245 million proposed settlement with Epic Games for using digital dark patterns to bill Fortnite players for unintentional in-game purchases.

How much money can a company take in by selling virtual costumes, dance moves, and piñatas shaped like llamas? It won’t surprise Fortnite fans to hear that the answer is billions, especially when, as the FTC alleges, Epic used a host of digital design tricks – dark patterns – to charge consumers for virtual merchandise without their express informed consent. What’s more, the FTC says when people disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card company, Epic locked their accounts, depriving them of access to content they had already paid for. The proposed FTC consent order is the agency’s largest administrative settlement to date. Continue reading for some insightful – and instructive – quotes from consumers and employees who didn’t hold back about their opinions of Epic’s tactics.

For the technological Rip Van Winkles among us, Fortnite is a hit video game with more than 400 million registered users, many of whom are kids. Although people can play the basic version for free, Epic charges for in-game purchases designed to enhance game play. The FTC alleges that with millions of consumers’ credit cards conveniently in hand, Epic failed to adequately explain its billing practices to customers and designed its interface in ways that led to unauthorized charges. You’ll want to read the complaint for details, but here are a few of the dark patterns the company allegedly used.

According to the complaint, Epic set up its payment system so that it saved by default the credit card that was associated with the account. That meant that kids could buy V-Bucks – the virtual currency necessary to make in-game purchases – with the simple press of a button. No separate cardholder consent was required. And although the currency was imaginary, the charges Epic packed on to Mom or Dad’s credit card were very real. What did parents and users have to say about Epic’s methods? Here are some examples:

  • “Hello Epic Games, The charges associated with this account were made without my authorization. This account is associated with my 10 year old son’s account and I am really disappointed that there is no check and balances that alerted me of these charges, and a 10 year old can purchase coins worth almost $500 so easily.”
  • “Epic Games is swindling parents with unauthorized game purchases, tricking young consumers & using shady practices for billing. I authorized a 1-time Epic Games purchase for my 11 yr-old son, only to discover EG did NOT erase my credit card info, & thus my son has been making unauthorized purchases, racking up $140 in less than 8 days after the initial authorized purchase.”

Epic’s own Fraud and Risk Consultant expressed similar concerns internally and recommended that the company require account holders to confirm their CVV numbers before charging the card on file: “This is standard / best practice and it prevents kids from using mom’s credit card without her permission[.]” However, by the time Epic finally took that advice, the company had already billed account holders for millions of V-Bucks transactions – many of which were unauthorized, according to the FTC.

Another dark pattern alleged in the FTC’s lawsuit is Epic’s design of in-game purchases in a way that made it easy for an inadvertent button push to lead to unwanted charges. For example, for users playing Fortnite on the small screen of a smartphone, the company placed the button to preview merchandise very close to the purchase button. The upshot: One misaligned click by a user still in the window shopping phase and Epic immediately deducted the cost of the item from the player’s V-Bucks balance. Users also reported unwanted purchases when the game was waking from sleep mode or in a loading screen.

What’s more, the FTC says Epic used inconsistent and often counterintuitive designations for the buttons, an alleged digital dark pattern that also led to unauthorized charges. For example, when playing Fortnite using the PlayStation controller, the button to preview merchandise has a cross on it while the button to buy certain items has a square. But for other items, those functions are reversed. Users who press the square can preview items, but users who press the cross are charged.

Epic was undoubtedly aware of the consequences of its design choices, given what users were reporting to the company:

  • “I’d like to raise a concern I have with the in-game store – there is no ‘confirm purchase’ button when you go to buy a skin/glider/axe….The reason I say this is because about 2 months ago I accidentally misclicked ‘purchase’ on a glider I had no intentions of buying. It instantly just took the V-Bucks and that was that….”
  • “I accidentally purchased a skin using my V-Bucks when I just meant to rotate it and check it out. Fat-fingered the ‘Square’ button on the PS4.”
  • “We are really disappointed that you are unable to help us as we feel my Sons V Buck accidental spend would have been avoided if your systems had more confirmation steps before buying items. Most other games companies have clear steps before you can purchase, e.g. item goes into basket, then questions asking ‘are you sure you want to purchase this?’, ‘Press this button to complete your purchase’. Your purchase process has none of these steps and we believe that it’s designed to take advantage of young users and accidental purchase.”

All told, the company received more than a million complaints about unwanted charges. And it wasn’t just customers. Epic’s own employees raised concerns about unwanted charges and repeatedly recommended measures to address them. For example, one employee described the company’s failure to include a confirmation screen for sales as “a bit of a dark UX [user experience] pattern.” But among Epic’s reasons for rejecting that suggestion was a concern it would reduce the number of “impulse purchases.”

In addition, the FTC alleges that Epic set up roadblocks that hindered users’ ability to reverse unauthorized charges. For certain purchases, Epic imposed a flat “no refunds” policy. For other inadvertent buys, the FTC says Epic “deliberately requires consumers to find and navigate a difficult and lengthy path to request a refund through the Fortnite app,” hiding the button in a hard-to-find location under the “Settings” tab.

What if users went to their credit card companies to dispute unauthorized charges? According to the complaint, Epic locked them out of their Fortnite accounts, denying them access to the merchandise they bought that wasn’t the subject of the credit card dispute. 

To settle the case, Epic has agreed to pay $245 million, which will be used to provide refunds for consumers. In addition, the proposed order mandates an overhaul of the company’s billing and dispute practices and bars the use of dark patterns to get consumers’ consent. Once the proposed settlement is published in the Federal Register, the FTC will accept public comments for 30 days.

The message for other companies should be clear. Take steps to avoid the dark patterns alleged in the Fortnite complaint and others outlined in the FTC report, Bringing Dark Patterns to Light.

Look at your website or app through the eyes of consumers. UX – user experience – is the current term, but it harkens back to a consumer protection fundamental: Be transparent about your billing practices. Consumers who check their accounts or view their credit card statements should never be taken by surprise.

Exercise particular care where kids are concerned. When it comes to box fighting or bunny hopping, kids may be skilled Fortnite players. But it’s a mistake to presume they have a similar sophistication about how in-game purchases work.

Rethink your refund practices. According to the complaint, an Epic employee who helped design the refund request path reported that during testing, he put the link in an obscure location in an “attempt to obfuscate the existence of the feature” and that “not a single player found this option in the most recent round of UX testing.” When the designer asked if he should make the feature easier to find, he was told by a superior, “it is perfect where it is at.” The moral of the story: Hiding the method customers must use to ask for a refund isn’t a good look for a company, and it’s not a strategy your business should implement.

Read your mail and listen to your employees. In many of those one million complaints Epic received, users gave the company an earful about exactly how its billing practices let them down – and Epic’s own employees echoed the same concerns. Companies that want to foster goodwill and avoid legal hot water should listen more carefully to customers and staffers.

Are you a Fortnite customer with a refund question? Bookmark the FTC’s Fortnite page and sign up for email updates. You’ll be contacted when more information is available.
 

Caydan Alexander
January 11, 2023

Can I get this refund my son spent 100$ on vbuck

Daniel beck
September 25, 2023

In reply to by Daniel

I wanted to know if I could refund my Fortnite account

Daniel beck
September 25, 2023

In reply to by Daniel

I want to know if I could get a refund on my child’s account used my credit card info to buy vbucks about 100,000 vbucks.

JOSEPH MITCHELL
January 11, 2023

Can we sue them for taking advantage about children?

Just Someone
August 28, 2023

In reply to by JOSEPH MITCHELL

Games aren't babysitters. maybe you shouldn't have had payment info in the game.

JUNIOR BUENROSTRO
September 25, 2023

In reply to by JOSEPH MITCHELL

I was playing ranked zero build and I got 20 kills and a win and I got 30 percent like what

matt m
January 11, 2023

my younger brother spent $100s on my card. i will be following up for refunds and am finally able to receive the right actions for this.

J.m
January 25, 2023

Most of the time it isn’t the games fault it is the parents, and also this is a lot more of a concern for all the pay to win or even play “free” mobile games that are also just as addictive, and I can guarantee that a fair amount of the older people play candy crush and have bought extra lives cuz your only one move away from winning the stage

Arias
January 11, 2023

Can i get my v-buck back

Kristina Kadenhe
January 17, 2023

Why didn't everyone know about this lawsuit until now. I know my cc has been charged well over $600 to $1200 over the years. Not cool this information was not knowledgeable

Jack Campbelli
January 17, 2023

I switched debit cards after my son spent several hundred dollars on V-bucks Will I still be-able to refund them?

Grace Perez
February 03, 2023

I would like to find out about this as my kid did this many time and i wasnt aware that it was being purchased who can i contact??

Ronnie Moreira
February 06, 2023

To the ftc.gov webmaster, Thanks for the well-written and informative post!

Chastity Wylie
February 15, 2023

Hello ftc.gov administrator, You always provide practical solutions and recommendations.

Celinda Broadway
March 27, 2023

Dear ftc.gov administrator, Thanks for the well-organized and comprehensive post!

Charles Jiang
March 06, 2023

My son has so many unauthorized charges on my credit card, mostly on fortnite, and some other games within epic games’ platform. If possible, I would appreciated the refund of $400 dollar that he spent without my consent

Kevin Terzian
March 27, 2023

I had vbucks on my account but my brother bought a skin I didn’t like and I had no refund tokens, would I be able to get the vbucks back

Rather not say
March 27, 2023

I just want to refund my account and get back my wasted time. I have a life ahead of me that was ruined by the game, just a distraction

Boston
March 27, 2023

can i get a battle pass i missed out do to there scam

Notfa Yew
March 21, 2023

Baffles me how many parents don’t know how to use parental controls. There are a few different secure settings that can be added to purchases…. I really hate that poor parenting is being pointing fingers elsewhere.

Cathrine Spillman
August 18, 2023

My moms name is Tosha Lindsey and my brother spent over $150 on fortnite with out my mom knowing can she will sue

Lawerence Conover
March 21, 2023

Dear ftc.gov webmaster, Your posts are always well-written and easy to understand.

Julia
March 20, 2023

My child used card without permission and spent over $1000.00 and it was reported nothing done about it I for sure want my refund

Jettie Pough
March 20, 2023

How do I sign up to get refunds on my behalf of my son and his gaming. Because tons of items we’re purchased and some things he couldn’t accessed and he was
banned and PlayStation wasn’t helpful. How do I sign up for refunds,etc

Mikah Domingos
September 26, 2023

In reply to by Jettie Pough

I am looking to get money back from my account being banned and spent a lot of money on it.

Cameron johnson
July 12, 2023

I need an attorney to help with my case. I've been charged money. An curently still am being charge for content im not buying.ive also have missing content I've paid for that they wont replace.

Nico
August 03, 2023

I got scammed out of my money and my time I cannot believe this epic. I buy my son a gift card and he couldn’t redeem it. I just wasted my one hour of working. I can’t believe you epic I need you to be canceled. I want to sue you. This is so gross and disgusting and I feel harassed please somebody Sue epic I hate them.

Just Someone
August 28, 2023

This is a joke right? the parent puts the card number into the game and DOESN'T TAKE IT OUT?? Since when as ANY COMPANY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD EVER EVER **ERASED** a credit card after a purchase??

And after the first "mistake" purchase, why would they leave their payment info in the game? If it happened once, it can happen again.

I do agree it was wrong that EG didn't allow refunds. It's not hard to tell when it was a mistake or not and it should only happen ONCE..

Viola Carlton
September 20, 2023

I can I get my money back. My friend used my bank card to purchase games for him and his nephew and brought skins.

Walter brown
September 25, 2023

My son spent $200 on my card can I get it back

Cody
September 25, 2023

I need to know as much as humanly possible about this. My son fits the criteria for both lawsuits.

TL
September 28, 2023

And whats up white the europan players?

Lucas Morgan
September 25, 2023

I accidentally bought many skins back in the day

Rrok
September 25, 2023

How do i take down a fortnite refund

father_jyt14
September 25, 2023

I want my 20 dollars back

BeverlyWhite
September 29, 2023

My Son spent Hundreds of dollars on rare and legendary Skins. His PlayStation stop working. How do he retrieve his Skins?

Zac smith
October 05, 2023

I purchased items through purchase by mistake and I would like a refund

Landon Delaney
October 05, 2023

Can I refund my Fortnite account?

FAHAD
October 05, 2023

I need my money im the only boy in my family i must help my dad please Fortnite back my money

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