FTC issuing refunds to Fortnite gamers after unwanted charges

(WKBN) - Fortnite players could soon see disputed funds returned to them, two years after a settlement was announced by the Federal Trade Commission.

In December of 2022, the FTC secured agreements requiring Epic Games, Inc., creator of the popular video game Fortnite, to pay a total of $520 million in relief over allegations the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and deployed design tricks, known as dark patterns, to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases.

According to the FTC, the company unlawfully charged players for unwanted purchases, let children rack up unauthorized charges without their parents’ permission, and blocked some users who disputed wrongful charges from accessing their purchased content.

Now, the FTC is sending 629,344 payments totaling more than $72 million to Fortnite players in the U.S. who were charged for unwanted purchases.

The settlement also required the company to get positive consent before charging users and banned it from locking players out of their accounts for disputing unauthorized charges.

Refunds will be issued via check or PayPal, depending on which was selected during the claims process. The agency requests that check payments be cashed within 90 days and PayPal payments accepted within 30 days.

The deadline to file a valid claim for this round of refunds was Oct. 8, 2024. The FTC says if you filed a claim after that date, you don't need to take any action at this time - those claims are still being reviewed and information will be provided soon. If you still need to file a claim, the deadline is Jan. 10, 2025.

For more details on claim eligibility and how to apply for a refund, click here.