A Canadian judge recently approved a 2019 class-action lawsuit filed against Epic Games revolving around Fortnite addiction. The lawsuit was first filed on behalf of two children whose parents claimed that the addictive nature of Fortnite caused their children to compulsively play the game, placing the blame on developer Epic Games.
Epic Games is no stranger to lawsuits as the company has a notable history of legal cases, foremost among them being the 2020 lawsuit Epic Games filed against Apple and Google over the sale of V-Bucks, Fortnite's in-game currency. However, no amount of legal issues has stopped Fortnite from becoming one of the most successful free-to-play games of all time with a massive amount of players logging into the game every day, many of whom are children.
It is this segment of the game's audience that the 2019 lawsuit revolves around. Three parents filed a lawsuit against Epic Games alleging that their children have become addicted to Fortnite and experienced harm as a result, adding that the game's developer purposely designed the game to be addictive. This alleged harm includes spending exorbitant amounts of money on V-Bucks, withdrawal from families, and psychological effects such as panic attacks. CTV News reports that a Quebec judge believes the plaintiff’s claim “does not appear to be frivolous or manifestly ill-founded,” and has thus authorized the lawsuit.
A relevant factor the judge previously mentioned was the World Health Organization's classification of video game addiction as a disease, a fitting reference given that one of the parents in the lawsuit filed a report on her son's diagnosis of "cyberaddiction" in October 2019. Epic Games responded to CTV News with a statement affirming that Fortnite's parental controls allow parents to track their child's playtime and impose spending limits on in-game purchases. The company also described the case as "meritless" and expressed its intention to take it to court.
An important aspect of the lawsuit is that it was approved just a few days after Epic Games announced Cabined Accounts for Fortnite, Fall Guys, and Rocket League. These accounts are designed for younger players and require them to provide a parent or guardian's email address in order to access features such as in-game voice chat and making in-game purchases with real money.
This announcement shows that Epic Games is well aware of its games' popularity with children and are thus willing to implement features to facilitate a safer experience for them. This latest lawsuit could potentially be the catalyst toward creating a safer digital environment for not just young Fortnite players, but for young fans of other games as well. Epic Games intends to fight this case in court, so it is only a matter of time before gamers young and old see the full ramifications of it.
Fortnite is available for Mac, Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: CTV News