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.
