There have been efforts in some parts of Europe to impose stricter regulations on games with microtransactions, with loot boxes in particular singled out as being a form of gambling. The Netherlands, for example, has pushed for loot boxes to be outright banned, and now it’s slapped Fortnite company Epic Games with a hefty fine for “unfair commercial practices” aimed at children.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (or ACM for short) imposed the fine on May 14, having conducted an investigation into Fortnite‘s monetisation and advertising practices. You can read the full report for yourself on the ACM’s website, but the long and short of it is that it believes the game exploits children with aggressive advertising, such as using phrases like “Get it now” or “Buy now.”
“Ads that directly exhort children to make purchases are an illegal aggressive commercial practice,” argues the ACM, which is why it’s fined Epic Games €562,500. However, the ACM has also deemed countdown timers for certain items to be “misleading.” Such timers obviously aim to convince customers to purchase an item before it expires by invoking scarcity and FOMO. The ACM claims to have found that some of these time-limited items never actually left the item store even after their timer expired. Deeming such timers misleading, the ACM has imposed a second fine of €562,500, meaning Epic has to fork over a total of €1,125,000, which is roughly $1.2 million.
The ACM has given Epic a deadline of June 10, 2024 to end such violations, though its report states Epic has already removed all countdown timers from the Fortnite shop. The company has also informed the ACM of its plans for other such changes, and will “present to players up to the age of 18 years in the Netherlands only items in the Item Shop that will be available for 48 hours or more” starting from May 24.
Despite sounding like it was willing to play ball in the report, Epic has said it intends to appeal the decision, in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz. What’s more, it’s said the ACM’s findings contain “significant factual errors about how Fortnite and the Item Shop operate,” arguing that it’s mandating for changes that would hamper the player experience.
According to Reuters, Epic Games is valued at $22.5 billion, following a $1.5 billion investment by Disney, so a $1.2 million fine feels like chump change for the company. Then again, it’s not too surprising Epic’s so quick to push back against the ACM. This is the same company who, after violating Apple’s terms and services and getting Fortnite booted from the Apple store, immediately kicked off a years-long lawsuit. It even turned the whole affair into a business opportunity, with an in-game #FreeFortnite event and advertising made to rally fans to its side.
