Fortnite maker Epic Games will be required to pay $245M in fines as part of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order accusing the game maker of using so-called "dark patterns," or design tricks that duped players into buying items.
The FTC said Fortnite employed confusing and counterintuitive button configurations to trick players into making unwanted purchases with a single click.
- Additionally, the game's younger players, who make up the majority of its demographic, were able to incur charges without parental approval as the game lacked a purchase authorization process, the FTC said.
- The agency has now finalized an order requiring Epic Games to pay the $245M fine and distribute refunds to players affected by the monetization scheme.
- The order bans Epic from blocking consumers from accessing their accounts when they dispute unauthorized charges.
- Separately, the FTC has accused Epic of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) when it gathered personal information on players under the age of 13 without parental consent, among other allegations.
- Epic will have to pay an additional $275M as a separate fine for violating COPPA.
- Both fines were tentatively agreed to in December.
- To address the FTC's allegations, Epic said it has introduced a protected account type for users under 13 and launched a "hold-to-purchase mechanic" to verify purchase intent, among other changes.
