FTC sends out refunds to Fortnite players tricked by Epic
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has started sending out $72 (€68 or £56) million in refunds to players charged for unwanted transactions in Fortnite. The FTC investigated and found Epic Games, the creators of the game, guilty of utilizing dark patterns in their interface design to trick players into making unwanted purchases.
As part of the settlement, Epic has orders to pay $520 (€504 or £416) million - $275 (€261 or £215) million as penalties and $245 (€233 or £192) million as refunds for affected players. The average payment per player will be around $114 (€108 or £89). The FTC is sending out 629,344 payments.
According to Forbes, the first round of payments is for players who filed a claim by October 8. Those who filed one at a later date will receive their refunds in the future, and those who haven't can still file their claims till January 10, 2025.
Players charged for transactions between January 2017 and September 2022 can claim refunds, and parents whose child used their credit cards between January 2017 and November 2018 are also eligible. Players who had their Fortnite accounts banned after complaining to their credit card companies about fraudulent charges can also queue up for claims.
