The FTC has refunded a total of $72 million to users who were tricked into making unwanted purchases by Fortnite's dark patterns.
On December 9, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was issuing refunds totaling $72 million (approximately 10 billion yen) to users who made unintended purchases due to
Fortnite Refunds | Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/refunds/fortnite-refunds
FTC distributes $72M to Fortnite customers tricked into making unwanted purchases | TechCrunch
The FTC sued Epic Games for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from users under the age of 13 without parental notification or verifiable parental consent, and the court ultimately ordered Epic Games to pay $275 million (approximately 41.6 billion yen). The FTC also sued Epic Games for using dark patterns to deceive users into making unintended purchases in the game. In response, an administrative order was issued requiring Epic Games to pay a penalty of $245 million (approximately 37.1 billion yen).
'Fortnite' developer Epic Games to pay fine of over 70 billion yen - GIGAZINE
When the penalty for using dark patterns to trick users into making unnecessary purchases was finalized in March 2023, the FTC criticized, 'Fortnite's 'counterintuitive,' 'inconsistent,' and 'confusing button configuration' was designed to allow players to be charged unnecessary fees by simply pressing a single button,' and 'Epic Games also designed it so that children could easily purchase in-game items while playing Fortnite without parental consent.' The FTC also revealed that it plans to offer refunds to users who made unwanted purchases due to Epic Games' dark patterns, and asked the affected users to participate in the refund process.
Fortnite ordered to pay 33 billion yen in fines for 'using dark patterns to trick children into buying items they didn't intend' - GIGAZINE
On December 9, 2024, the FTC reported that 629,344 refunds had been made to users who had participated in the refund process by October 8, 2024. The total amount of refunds to date is more than $72 million. In addition, to users who submitted refund requests after October 8, 2024, 'Claims submitted after that date are currently being processed and details will be provided soon. Refunds will be made in sequence after all claims are reviewed and verified in 2025.'
Please note that refunds are available to users residing in the United States who fall under the following circumstances:
Parents whose children made unauthorized credit card purchases on the Epic Games Store between January 2017 and November 2018
- Fortnite players who were charged in-game currency (V-Bucks) for unwanted in-game items (such as skins and battle passes) between January 2017 and September 2022
Between January 2017 and September 2022, Fortnite players whose accounts were locked after disputing fraudulent charges with their credit card companies
The deadline for submitting refund requests is January 10, 2025, and they can be submitted via the form below.
File a Claim
https://www.fortniterefund.com/file-a-claim
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