If you are an adult who played Fortnite before turning 18 or are the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 who played Fortnite, and believe the game negatively impacted your or your child's physical, mental, emotional, educational, or financial well-being, you may qualify for a claim under federal and state laws. You may be eligible for an additional claim if you believe that Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic Games”), the creator of Fortnite, violated your or your child's privacy rights by collecting personal data without consent. You may be entitled to monetary damages for pain and suffering, treatment costs, lost income, and other compensable harm.
There is a growing body of scientific research linking excessive video-game use to mental-health harms, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Brain-imaging studies have shown structural changes in the brain associated with gaming disorder, including reduction in white-matter density and grey-matter volume.
This claim asserts that Epic Games, when designing and operating Fortnite:
- Employed addictive design techniques intended to maximize engagement and retention (e.g., variable-reward loops, Battle Pass system, V-Bucks microtransactions, daily quests, limited-time items, social features), even while aware of addiction risks;
- Used dark patterns to deceive players into making unintended purchases through confusing button configurations and interface designs;
- Failed to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13, in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”);
- Enabled default live text and voice communications that exposed children to bullying, harassment, and dangerous interactions.
Across multiple lawsuits and claims nationwide, plaintiffs are asserting that Fortnite constitutes an unsafe product due to its addictive design, manipulative monetization, and unlawful data collection practices, which caused addiction, psychological and physical harm, academic decline, financial losses, and privacy violations, among other damages.
We are representing clients in individual arbitration and litigation against Epic Games for violating federal and state product-liability, consumer-protection, privacy, and negligence laws.
