Fortnite has consistently remained in the spotlight since its release last July, but this week it headlined on Bloomberg for less than stellar reasons. To be specific, young players were being sent to rehab to tackle their Fortnite addictions.

Fortnite has been a massive hit with younger audiences, but this success has made it a high profile target for concerned parents. This is far from the first time parental discourse has focused in on a particular subject, with everything from the entire breed of pit bulls to the Grand Theft Auto trilogy having fallen under similar crosshairs before. Gaming addiction itself has always been a hot topic for parents, so it should come as no surprise that Fortnite pops up frequently when such concerns are raised.

Popular Fortnite streamer Ninja - who earns about $500,000 per month streaming the title - took issue with the aforementioned Bloomberg article. He places the blame for young players being addicted to the game firmly on the parents who let their children run rampant with playtime. The Bloomberg article quotes one mother whose son spends 12 hours a day playing Fortnite, a number that simply isn't healthy regardless of one's age. It also helps drive home Ninja's point, which is that parents have a responsibility to manage how their children spend free time. It's easy to hand a child a phone to keep them pacified, but it's less easy to proactively manage them during these important developmental years.

The addictive nature of Fortnite isn't just an issue for kids, either. The game has been cited in over 200 divorce cases in the United Kingdom in 2018 alone, with those numbers likely to have grown since the report released in September. What's more is that the World Health Organization officially listed compulsive video game playing as a mental health disorder this year, with ample evidence that such addictions can cause serious damage to one's life. For instance, there have been many examples of people quitting their jobs so that they could game all day, and even some examples of people who've binged games until they've passed away.

One of the large appeals of Fortnite is that it's free to play, which makes it easy for potential players to try out the title. This is especially true for younger audiences, since the free-to-play nature makes it much more accessible to those without a credit card. It's also available across mobile, console, and PC devices, allowing gamers to continue playing from virtually anywhere. This has evidently proven to be a dangerous combination for gamers susceptible to letting Fortnite (among other games) consume their lives.

With both the popularity and accessibility of games rising to higher levels than ever before, modern parents have a lot more to watch out for when it comes to how their kids spend their free time. Ninja certainly has a point with his statement, but it remains to be seen how parental perception of the game evolves, as these kinds of articles continue to be released. Parents aiming to let their children game responsibly should always be aware of the available parental controls available on their devices, and should proactively manage how much time their children gaming.

Fortnite is available now for Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.