Fortnite is refunding people who made unwanted in-game purchases after huge $72,000,000 settlement

Fortnite's developer, Epic Games, is refunding people who'd made unwanted purchases while playing the game.

As part of a settlement that was first announced two years ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is issuing refunds to players - which totals over $72 million.

The game, which sees up to 100 people meet on a virtual island and battle it out to be the champion, is free to play, but there are a number of optional purchases that users can make.

The settlement first began in December 2022, when complaints were made from parents whose kids had made purchases on the app without realising.

The FTC claimed that the game's 'confusing' features led players to make accidental, 'unwanted purchases'.

Refunds are being sent to those affected (Epic Games)

Epic Games was also accused of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and agreed in December 2022 to pay the multimillion dollar settlement.

On Monday (December 9), The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a news release: “The FTC alleged that Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration led players of all ages to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button.

“For example, players could be charged while attempting to wake the game from sleep mode, while the game was in a loading screen, or by pressing an adjacent button while attempting simply to preview an item.

"The company also made it easy for children to rack up charges without parental consent and locked the accounts of consumers who disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card companies."

Part of the $520 million sum covers a $275 million fine on how Fortnite generates information about its users, including those aged 13 and under.

The FTC claimed that the game's confusing features led players to make accidental, unwanted purchases (Getty Stock Photo)

The remainder will go towards refunding affected customers, who can now claim for a chunk of the $245 million cash pot.

It is the largest fine ever given out by the FTC for breaking a rule.

In its new release, FTC said they'd be 'sending its first round of payments in this matter and will distribute additional money at a later date', adding: "Today (December 9), the FTC is sending 629,344 total payments, about half of which are PayPal payments and the other half are checks."

If you think you could be eligible, but are yet to submit a claim, you can do so here. The deadline to submit for those in the US is January 10, 2025, according to The Independent.

You can apply for a refund if any of the below are correct:

1. You were charged in-game currency for items you didn’t want between January 2017 to September 2022
2. Your child made charges to your credit card without your knowledge between January 2017 to September 2018
3. Your account was locked between January 2017 to September 2022 after you complained to your credit card company about wrongful charges
4. You are 18-years-old or older - if not, a parent or guardian must sign the form instead

The Independent further reports that you will also need your claim number or Epic Account ID to apply, with instructions on how to find your ID available on Epic Games' website here.