Epic Games Fined

Epic Games Fined

Drama

14 May 2024 17:36

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has imposed a fine of €1,125k on Epic Games for employing "unfair commercial practices" targeting children in Fortnite. Following an investigation, the ACM concluded that Epic Games took advantage of children's vulnerabilities through certain design choices in its item shop. This included the use of coercive language such as "get it now" or "buy now" in advertisements, deemed as an "illegal aggressive commercial practice" by the ACM. For this violation, Epic Games was fined €562k.

Additionally, the investigation revealed the use of countdown timers on advertisements for items that remained available in the shop even after the countdown elapsed. The ACM considered this tactic as exploiting children's fear of missing out by suggesting scarcity of items that were actually still purchasable. Epic Games incurred another fine of €562k for this violation.

More: Disguised Partners with Chipotle

Epic Games stated "The findings in the ACM's decision contain significant factual errors about how Fortnite and the Item Shop operate. The ACM is mandating changes that would result in a poor experience for players. We will appeal this decision. While our appeal is pending, players in the Netherlands that are under the age of 18 will not be able to see or purchase items that are in the shop for less than 48 hours, beginning May 24, 2024."

Tags: Epic Games Fined

Share:

Sources:

Report mistake Submit news

Related news

View All

Ubisoft's AI Spend Lands in Its Worst-Ever Loss Report

Problem boy of the industry, Ubisoft just announced their decision to accelerate investments in ITS generative AI project, on the...

Drama

May 20, 2026

Steam's NSFW Tag Removal Finishes What Visa Started

Today Valve announced its decision to remove the NSFW tags from Steam, alongside other significant changes to the tag system....

Drama

May 20, 2026

Nintendo's Fast-Track Patent Push Reveals the Real Deadline

The Japan Patent Office rejected Nintendo's new patent claim, now they have no chance but to wait. However there also...

Drama

May 19, 2026

Falcons' WRS Sweep Completed

Falcons winning Warzone Resurgence Series at DreamHack Atlanta gives the same two Saudi organisations every WRS LAN trophy in 2026,...

Drama

May 18, 2026

Konami Russia Shutdown Ends the Slowest Withdrawal in Gaming

Konami is the last of the major Japanese publishers to formally pull live service from Russia and Belarus, and the...

Drama

May 18, 2026

Epic Games Fined

Drama

14 May 2024 17:36

Tags: Epic Games Fined

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has imposed a fine of €1,125k on Epic Games for employing "unfair commercial practices" targeting children in Fortnite. Following an investigation, the ACM concluded that Epic Games took advantage of children's vulnerabilities through certain design choices in its item shop. This included the use of coercive language such as "get it now" or "buy now" in advertisements, deemed as an "illegal aggressive commercial practice" by the ACM. For this violation, Epic Games was fined €562k.

Additionally, the investigation revealed the use of countdown timers on advertisements for items that remained available in the shop even after the countdown elapsed. The ACM considered this tactic as exploiting children's fear of missing out by suggesting scarcity of items that were actually still purchasable. Epic Games incurred another fine of €562k for this violation.

More: Disguised Partners with Chipotle

Epic Games stated "The findings in the ACM's decision contain significant factual errors about how Fortnite and the Item Shop operate. The ACM is mandating changes that would result in a poor experience for players. We will appeal this decision. While our appeal is pending, players in the Netherlands that are under the age of 18 will not be able to see or purchase items that are in the shop for less than 48 hours, beginning May 24, 2024."

Share:

Sources:

Report mistake Submit news