Epic Games Has Been Fined €1.1 Million in The Netherlands Court For Misleading Children

The Fortnite item shop is often criticized for employing predatory tactics, particularly targeting younger individuals with well-known strategies such as the fear of missing out, commonly referred to as FOMO. Now Epic Games the developer behind Fortnite has been fined for breaking EU consumer laws and pressuring children into making in-game purchases.

Epic Games Fined

The company was fined roughly €1.1 Million which is around £945,488, by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) this was following an investigation into the company’s practices. The ACM has found that the company had failed to provide clear information about the in-game purchases.

This lack of transparency has led to many younger people making purchases that they wouldn’t have usually made, which directly violates the EU consumer protection laws.

The €1.1 Million fine was split between two different fines one was for the illegal aggressive commercial practice that was FOMO and that accounts for around €562,500 of the fine. The other was for the countdown timers in the Item shop where items that were still available even after the timer had reached zero resulted in another €562,500.

Epic Games Response

Epic Games intends to appeal the ruling since the substantial fine has attracted negative publicity for the game and apparently “The ACM is mandating changes that would result in a poor experience for players.” says Epic Games in a statement for GameIndustry.biz.

Furthermore, players that are under the age of 18 in the Netherlands will be unable to see or purchase items that are in the shop for less than 48 hours, beginning May 24, 2024.