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These days, video games have shops just like online stores. Games like Fortnite, developed by Epic Games, sell gear, character “skins,” and dance moves. (Think Darth Vader wielding an umbrella and flossing.) But what if the game saved your payment info (without asking you first), didn’t give you the chance to confirm purchases, made it hard to cancel them, and locked you out of the game if you tried to dispute the charge?

That, says the FTC, is what happened to some Fortnite players and parents. If you bought something in Fortnite, you might not have known that Epic saved your payment information. Or known that your kids could buy things – hundreds of dollars of in-game things – without you confirming their purchase, according to the FTC. And, says the FTC, Fortnite’s setup was so confusing that millions of players were charged for items they didn’t want.

Even worse, Epic made it difficult or impossible to cancel charges, and if you tried to dispute a charge with your credit card company, you might have found yourself unexpectedly and permanently locked out of Fortnite. You know, the game where you might have just spent hundreds of dollars without your knowledge or permission. That also meant you’d lose access to all the content you actually wanted and paid for — simply because you disputed a charge. 

Thanks to a settlement with the FTC, Epic now has to make sure players and parents confirm purchases. They can’t lock you out of the game for disputing charges. And Epic also has to pay $245 million to those they unfairly charged or locked out of a Fortnite account. Visit ftc.gov/fortnite for more information about refunds, and sign up for email updates from the FTC.

But that’s not all — while this settlement with the FTC could protect your wallet, another Epic settlement with the FTC could protect your privacy. Keep reading.

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Jill Rice
January 30, 2023

I need my money back

Jay
January 30, 2023

i played this game and i purchesed unwanted skins and vbucks. can i get my refund

Trever Dennee
January 31, 2023

I missed this!?!? I hope Im still eligible because I lost hundreds of dollars during Fortnites first chapter change (aka start of chapter 2) and Ive been unable to retrieve my old cosmetics nor was I refunded AT ALL!

Coal
January 31, 2023

Would the refund affect my Save The World gamemode progress, and the vbucks I obtained from that mode?

Trever Dennee
January 31, 2023

FORTNITE LOCKED ME OUT OF MY $700+ ACCOUNT IN 2019 AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO SEE THOSE SKINS NOR HAVE I GOTTEN COMPENSATION SINCE THEN!!!

Ethan Jones
February 23, 2023

I play fortnite and every time I try and look at each fortnite skin it makes me purchase it for no reason And I don't even want it and I cannot refund it

Dominc
March 08, 2023

I need my money back im actually broke because of fortnite

Shhcg
March 16, 2023

I'm really happy but this headline go after the big guys approach is wanting. This happens in tons of games on the biggest app stores. Please end the whole business practice.

francesco
March 17, 2023

I would like to get my money back as they manipulated me into shopping

Henry gutierrez
March 17, 2023

I would really like to refund some old skins i don't want them no more even what i bought last year.

Derek Forcier
March 20, 2023

I currently need Fortnite refunds too, can I plz get refunds

TTV DemonSpaid
March 22, 2023

Can i get my money back

Jim Glassford
March 27, 2023

Hi I'm here to talk to my half a billion dollars that That I want on Fortnite.

Deleon Francis
March 27, 2023

Can i please apply for a refund

calvin
March 27, 2023

i need my money back now

Car
March 27, 2023

Can I refund my Fortnite skins and account because I realize now that it was a horrible mistake of spending my moms money for video game skins.

Haslouer13
April 05, 2023

Epic I want my return ticket.

Alex Mendez
April 05, 2023

So i have been playing Fortnite for a while and accidentally purchased a skin i called my bank acc for a refund and my Fortnite account was permanently banned it says "your account is inactive and may not login" i want my acc back or my money back

Jayson Cintron
April 10, 2023

Somehow my little cousin got a hold of my Xbox account and downloaded Fortnite around 2020 and as I was looking at my PayPal purchases it was over 900 dollars it looks like he stopped when I saw it and told his mom in march of 2023 and I don’t know how to get my money back, I gave him my Xbox in 2020 and I swore I deleted my account but he knew this and didn’t tell me I don’t know what to do because Xbox or Fortnite isn’t getting me reimbursed to my paypal