Epic Games billed players for nearly every feature in the online game.

The game developer used dark patterns to “trick” players into making unwanted purchases, enabling children to incur unauthorized charges without parental consent and preventing customers from reviewing their purchases after disputing the illegal charges, according to the FTC.

Additionally, the FTC asserted in a news release that Fortnite’s “counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration led players of all ages to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button. For example, players could be charged while attempting to wake the game from sleep mode, while the game was in a loading screen, or by pressing an adjacent button while attempting simply to preview an item.”

“As our complaints note, Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children,” FTC chair Lina Khan said in a December 2022 news release when the company announced the settlement. “Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is a top priority for the Commission, and these enforcement actions make clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices.”

FTC

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week