NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. consumers who were "tricked" into purchases they didn't want from Fortnite maker Epic Games are now starting to receive refund checks, the Federal Trade Commission said this week.
Back in 2022, Epic agreed to pay a total of $520 million to settle complaints revolving around children's privacy and payment methods on its popular Fortnite game. The FTC alleged the video game giant used deceptive online design tactics to trick Fortnite players, including children, into making unintended purchases "based on the press of a single button."
Consumers could be charged while doing something as simple as attempting the wake the game from sleep mode, for example, or by pressing a nearby button when trying to preview an item, the agency said. The FTC also accused Epic of blocking some users who disputed the charges from accessing the content they purchased.
Beyond a $275 million fine related to collecting personal information on players under the age of 13, the settlement included $245 million in customer refunds. Now, the first batch of those refunds are being sent out.
On Monday, the FTC announced it was sending over 629,00 payments to eligible customers who submitted claims. About half of those refunds are PayPal payments, which should be redeemed within 30 days, and the rest are checks, which should be cashed within 90 days.
The average refund is about $114, the FTC noted. This first round of payments amounts to a total of more than $72 million, according to the agency — leaving about $173 million left to be distributed.
Impacted consumers can still apply for a refund online. People who are eligible for these payouts include Fortnite players who were charged in-game currency for items they didn't want or saw their account locked after complaining to a credit card company about wrongful charges between January 2017 and September 2022 — as well as parents whose child made charges on their credit cards without their knowledge from January 2018 through November 2018.
You can learn more about applying for a refund on the FTC's website. The deadline for submitting a claim is January 10, 2025.
At the time the settlement was announced in December 2022, Epic said it accepted the agreement because it wanted "to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players." The Cary, North Carolina-based added that it was already rolling out changes "to ensure our ecosystem meets the expectations of our players and regulators, which we hope will be a helpful guide for others in our industry."
