Epic Games faces new lawsuit for deceptive practices in Fortnite

Epic Games has once again found itself standing trial for alleged ‘deceptive practices’ inside one of the most popular games, Fortnite. In a lawsuit filed with a San Francisco court by parents on behalf of their children, Epic is being accused of creating FOMO (fear of missing out) with timers inside the item shop for cosmetics.

For those who aren’t aware, item shop inside Fortnite regularly updates with new cosmetics. There’s a timer that showcases when an item will be vaulted and replaced with something new. However, the lawsuit as observed by Polygon, claims that when the timer hits zero, the items are not removed or go back to full price.

“When their countdown timers expired, Fortnite’s Item Shop products did not disappear or return to full price. They remained available for purchase, often at the same purportedly discounted rate, for many days or even weeks at a time. This was an unlawful scheme. Fake sales with made-up expiration times are deceptive and illegal under state statutes proscribing unfair and deceptive trade practices,” the statement read.

Epic Games responds to allegations

This isn’t the first for Epic Games as last year, the gaming giant was fined over $1 million by the the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets. Even before that, the company faced a fine of over $500 million from the FTC regarding past designs of the item shop, refund systems, and children’s privacy in Fortnite.

Also Read: Epic Games takes legal action against Fortnite cheater

Following up on the fine, Epic Games introduced a lot of safeguards for accidental purchases. Responding to the allegations, a company spokesperson said the complaints had ‘factual errors’ as Fortnite had previously removed timers. Furthermore, purchases now require a hold-to-purchase mechanic to stop accidental clicks.

It is yet to be seen if the latest lawsuit will move forward with Epic claiming no wrongdoing this time around. While quite popular, Fortnite has been a very controversial game in these matters which cost Epic Games a lot of money over the years. At the same time, the company has also made a large amount of money.