Epic Games' Fortnite is no stranger to lawsuits, and in fact, it is currently in the midst of multiple lawsuits, many of which have to deal with whether or not dances can be copyrighted. However, the latest lawsuit filed against Fortnite and Epic Games is not about dance emotes, but rather its supposed sale of "predatory" loot boxes.

Fortnite battle royale players may be confused by this lawsuit, as the battle royale mode doesn't use loot boxes. On the contrary, Fortnite battle royale players are able to purchase specific skins, emotes, and other cosmetics directly using V-Bucks. And even more recent Save the World players may not quite understand the lawsuit, as blind-draw loot boxes are not even featured in the game any longer.

However, there was a point where blind-draw loot boxes were part of Fortnite Save the World, and that is where this class action lawsuit stems from. According to the lawsuit, an underage player from California purchased the Llamas (Fortnite's version of loot boxes) in an attempt to get "rare and powerful loot," but was never able to do so. As stated in the lawsuit, "Plaintiff did not receive that desired loot and never had a realistic chance of doing so."

The lawsuit makes the argument that the odds are very low when it comes to getting rare loot through Fortnite's loot boxes, and that the plaintiff wouldn't have purchased them had they known the odds. "Had Plaintiff known the odds of receiving the desired loot in Llamas were virtually nil, he would not have purchased them," it states. The lawsuit is unclear about how the plaintiff or their lawyers came to the determination that loot box odds were low without Epic actually posting them.

The loot box controversy has died down in recent months, as many developers and publishers have started removing them from games. Even so, there are ongoing investigations by various governments into loot boxes to determine whether or not they should be considered gambling. With Fortnite having already removed blind-draw loot boxes and the practice being legal, it seems like the plaintiff has an uphill battle ahead of them, but it will be interesting to see what comes of the situation.

Fortnite is out now in early access for Android, iOS, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

Source: The Verge