FTC distributes $72M to Fortnite customers tricked into making unwanted purchases

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Monday announced that it’s sending the first round of payments to consumers tricked by Fortnite maker Epic Games into making unwanted purchases, with refunds totaling over $72 million. The settlement, first announced in December 2022 and finalized in March 2023, fined the game $245 million for its “counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration,” which led consumers to make unwanted purchases by clicking the wrong button.

The use of these sorts of tricks, also known as “dark patterns,” has been a focus for the FTC in recent months. The Commission released findings about the use of the technique designed to deceive in subscription apps, and has targeted companies that took advantage of consumers using dark patterns, including neobank Dave and Amazon, among others.

In Epic Games’ case, the FTC found that confusing navigation would cause customers to accidentally make purchases. For instance, when players woke the game from a sleep mode, they could be be charged while the game was still loading. They also were charged when pressing a button to preview an item. The tactics led to many Fortnite players, mainly children, to “rack up unauthorized charges without any parental involvement,” the FTC said.

As part of its settlement with the FTC, Epic Games was required to discontinue its use of these digital design tricks and obtain affirmative consent for digital purchases. It also blocks Epic Games from locking the accounts of customers who dispute charges for digital goods and services purchased.

The $72 million in refunds now being sent to harmed customers is the first round of payments to come of the settlement, with further payments planned for distribution at a later date. On Monday, 629,344 payments are being made, half through PayPal and half through checks. (Consumers selected how they wanted to be paid when they completed their claim form.) Affected customers should redeem their PayPal payment within 30 days and cash checks within 90 days.

The average payment is around $114. Consumers are still able to submit a claim via an online form if they haven’t already.