The United States Federal Trade Commission started issuing refunds to consumers impacted by Epic Games' practices in Fortnite, which led to unwanted purchases of perks, emotes, and other in-game elements.
As reported by GamesIndustry, the FTC confirmed that it is sending its first batch of payments to impacted users, totaling 629,344, half of them in checks and the other in PayPal transfers. The remaining payments will be sent at a later date. The average payment is around $114.
This first batch of refunds for Epic Games users is being set as part of a settlement reached back in December 2022. The FTC charged the publisher with deploying shady tactics to drive unwanted purchases of virtual currency in Fortnite to purchase outfits, perks, and emotes. For this violation, Epic Games had to pay $245 million in fines, which the FTC is using to issue the refunds that started making their way to impacted users today.
This isn't the only violation Epic Games was fined for by the Federal Trade Commission. The Fortnite publisher was also charged with violating the COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), collecting information from children under 13 who played the popular battle royale game without verifiable consent from a parent and making parents jump through hoops to have their children's data deleted, an issue that has long been addressed. This violation cost Epic Games $275 million, bringing the total fine to $520 million.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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