The first round of payments from a $245 million settlement with the Fortnite maker – $72 million – now goes to people who the Federal Trade Commission says were tricked into making unintended in-game purchases. And it’s not too late to file a claim if you’re one of those affected.

In the settlement finalized last year, the FTC concluded that Epic Games used design tricks known as dark patterns. “Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent and confusing button configuration resulted in players being charged unwanted fees based on pressing a single button,” the agency said in its March 2023 announcement.

Now the FTC says 629,344 payments will go to players who made these in-game purchases and submitted a valid claim by October 8th. Its website says it is still reviewing claims made after October 8th and will provide further information soon.

The average payout is around $114 per customer.

A CNET employee received his PayPal deposit email (for $95.98) on Monday afternoon, a pleasant surprise since he had forgotten about the class action lawsuit

The FTC asks those who received a payment by check to cash it within 90 days and those who received a PayPal payment to accept it within 30 days.

You can still submit a Fortnite claim. Here’s how

For those who received notice of the settlement but have not yet filed, the claim window is still open. The window closes on January 10, 2025, the deadline to file a claim for this settlement.

Submitters must be at least 18 years old. Minors can ask a parent or guardian to complete the form on their behalf. A claim number and Epic account ID are required.

According to the FTC, filing a lawsuit will not affect a player’s Fortnite account. For more information, see the FTC’s Fortnite Refunds FAQ.

The settlement applies to anyone who was charged in-game currency for items they chose not to purchase between January 2017 and September 2022; if a child made credit card charges between January 2017 and November 2018 without the parents’ knowledge; or if an account was suspended between January 2017 and September 2022 after a charge was disputed.

Epic’s Fortnite is extremely popular, especially among teenagers; A gaming event last year saw 44.7 million players take part in a single day. But the free-to-play game relies on players purchasing battle passes and other items using V-Bucks, the in-game currency. Like other games-as-platforms that have a large audience of young people, such as Roblox, Fortnite has evolved to make its game safe for young people and ensure that no payments are generated without the player’s authorization.