The money from a $245 million settlement that Fortnite developer Epic Games agreed to pay will now go to affected US consumers who were tricked into purchasing in-game goods. And you still have time to claim part of the payout.

The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it is sending out the “first round of payments” after reaching the agreement with Epic Games in December 2022.

“The average payment is about $114,” the U.S. regulator said, although the median payment is $80. In this first round, the FTC is sending 629,344 payments to affected consumers totaling more than $72 million. Half of the money will be distributed via PayPal and the other half will be sent via check in the mail.

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The Commission initiated the reimbursement process in September 2023. The good news is that this has had an impact on US consumers can still be applied until January 10, 2025, via the FTC claim form.

“We expect to make additional payments in 2025 after reviewing and validating all claims,” the FTC says.

The settlement applies to Fortnite users who were charged V-Bucks, the in-game currency, for purchases they didn’t want between January 2017 and September 2022. Parents of a Fortnite player can also file a claim if their child made charges to their credit card without their knowledge between January 2017 and November 2018.

Also eligible are a third group of consumers who were locked out of their Fortnite accounts between January 2017 and September 2022 after complaining about unwanted credit card charges.

The $245 million is intended to provide relief to up to 37 million people who were notified by email by the FTC. But it looks like only a small proportion have filed a lawsuit. The Commission’s comparison website currently shows that a large proportion of the funds remain unused.

(Source: FTC)

An FTC website for the settlement notes: “If there is money left in the settlement fund after the first distribution, the FTC may send a second round of payments.”

Back in December 2022, the commission also secured a $275 million penalty from Epic Games over Fortnite violating a federal law focused on protecting children’s digital privacy. But that money was transferred to the US Treasury.

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About Michael Kan

Senior Reporter

I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years – I started as a schools and city reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017.

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