EligibleFortniteplayers are currently receiving refunds through the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This follows theDecemberFortnitepayouts, which included $72 million to affected players. If a player filed a valid claim before February 14, their claim is currently being processed.
The refunds are part of a lawsuit between the battle royale’s developer, Epic Games, and the FTC, in which it was alleged thatFortnitehad been participating in deceptive practices. Now, as the FTC manages the second wave of payouts, which total $126 million in refunds for 969,173 players, some may wonder if they qualify for the final round.
Fortnite’s FTC Lawsuit Explained
Epic Games 2022 Settlement and Distribution
The 2022 settlement between Epic Games and the FTC agreed that $245 million would be distributed back to players who were victims of unwanted purchases. This was due to the ease with whichFortniteallowed players to purchase cosmetics, as simply previewing an item or trying to wake the game out of sleep mode could lead to an unintended purchase. It was also highlighted that children were able to rack up purchases without the need for parental approval.
The FTC alleged that these were purposefully deceptive tricks, “based on the press of a single button” and “confusing button configuration.” WhenFortniteplayers sought refundsfor these incidents, the FTC claims some users were blocked from accessing the content and could not dispute the purchase. As such, in addition to the $275 million fine for collecting personal information from players under the age of 13, Epic Games was ordered to issue refunds to customers.
Do You Qualify For A Refund From Epic Games?
The next round of refunds will be distributed via PayPal and check, and the final submission date has been pushed back as the FTC reopens its claims process. TheFortniterefund processshould take approximately two minutes to complete and requires players to either have an email from the FTC with a claim number or their Epic Games ID, which consists of 32 characters.
However, to see if they qualify, players should take note of the following prerequisites:
Furthermore, if any of the below statements are true, players may also be entitled to a refund:
Additionally, players should be aware that they must file byWednesday, July 9.Filing an FTC claim forFortnitewill not affect their account, and no items will be removed from their inventory for doing so. The total payment amount is expected to vary depending on the number of people who file. For reference, the average refund from the first round of payments was around $114 per person.
Payments should roll out in 2026. PayPal payments must be accepted within 30 days, and checks should be cashed within 90 days. Notably,Epic Games commented on the lawsuitin 2022, acknowledging the settlement and stating that it wanted “to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for [its] players.”
