Fortnite forced to make huge changes to store after being fined for 'exploiting children'

After being fined for over $1.2 million by The Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM), Fortnite developer Epic Games has changed the way that the store works, while still appealing the decision made by the ACM.

In order to adhere to the lawsuit, Epic is changing the item shop timer to display the local time of the player rather than a general countdown, along with removing the different tiers of cosmetics in the shop itself.

The store will also now display the date that an item will be leaving the store to the item description.

"The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has imposed a fine on game developer Epic Games International for using unfair commercial practices aimed at children in its Fortnite game. Companies need to do business with the utmost care, particularly when offering products to children.

In its investigation, ACM found that children that played the game could experience pressure in several ways to make purchases, for example by using ads which directly exhort children to make purchases, and by using misleading countdown timers for items on offer," an official press release on the lawsuit stated.

Despite changing the way that the store works after the lawsuit, Epic has also responded to the lawsuit in question with their own statement.

"The findings in the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) decision contain significant factual errors about how Fortnite and the Item Shop operate. The ACM is demanding 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", Epic Games response to the decision stated.