The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has started sending refunds totaling $72 million to Fortnite players who fell victim to the company's "dark schemes" that encouraged children to buy various in-game products. This was reported by GameIndustry.biz.
Following the 2022 ruling, the FTC began notifying individuals eligible for refunds in September 2023. At that time, the agency represented more than 37 million people.
The FTC has already started the first phase of refunds totaling $72 million. The average payment will be approximately $114. In this round, 629,344 payments will be made, of which half will be in the form of checks and the other half will be made via PayPal.
The FTC says that all other users who are eligible for refunds and who did not make it to the first round will receive money "at a later date."
In 2022, the FTC ruled that Epic Games illegally collected children's personal data and put young players at risk by allowing them to communicate with strangers in Fortnite.
At the same time, the company was accused of using "dark schemes" that encouraged millions of players to make in-game purchases. To resolve these allegations, Epic Games paid $520 million, part of which is now being used to compensate players.