FTC Says It's Time To Claim Your Share Of An Epic $245M Fortnite Settlement
Remember that $245 million settlement between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Epic Games? Well, it's been around two years since it was agreed upon, and the FTC says it's finally planning to send out hundreds of thousands of checks and PayPal payments tallying $72 million to eligible claimants. This is the first wave of payments, with the rest of the settled funds to be distributed at a later date.
Epic Games agreed to settle for $245 million after the FTC accused it of using "design tactics known as dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases" in its massively-popular Fortnite game. The FTC further alleged that these tactics enabled kids to "rack up unauthorized charges without any parental involvement," and also blocked some gamers from accessing purchased content if they filed a dispute.
The @FTC previously ordered Epic Games to pay $245 million for tricking players into making unwanted purchases & letting kids rack up unauthorized charges.
— Lina Khan (@linakhanFTC) December 9, 2024
We are now sending the first round of refunds totaling more than $72 million to those harmed.https://t.co/e1m3OICXCv
"The FTC alleged that Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration led players of all ages to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button. For example, players could be charged while attempting to wake the game from sleep mode, while the game was in a loading screen, or by pressing an adjacent button while attempting simply to preview an item," the FTC stated in a press release.
How much can you expect to receive as part of the settlement if you filed an eligible claim? That will depend on your specific circumstance, but according to the FTC, the average payment is $114. At least that's the case for anyone who filed an eligible claim prior to October 8, 2024.
"If you filed a claim after October 8, you don’t need to do anything else right now. The FTC is still reviewing claims filed after that date and will provide more information soon," the FTC added.
There is still time to file a claim, though you'll have to be relatively swift about it. The deadline to file a claim is January 10, 2025. If you received an email saying you're eligible, you'll be asked to provide your claim number. Otherwise, you'll need to provide your Epic account ID instead.
