The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began sending over $72 million in refunds to consumers as part of a settlement in December 2022 Epic games.

The settlement eliminated the FTC’s allegations The Epic Games misled consumers into making unwanted purchases, the regulator said on Monday (December 9). Press release.

The FTC sent a total of 629,344 payments on Monday and will distribute more at a later timesays the press release. The average payment is around $114.

The first distribution amount This case marks the seventh-largest amount the FTC has ever sent, according to the regulator’s interactive refund data dashboards.

The FTC alleged that Epic Games, maker of the video game Fortnite, tricked players into making unwanted purchases using design tactics called “dark patterns.”“,” Allow children to make unwarranted accusations without parental involvement, and some users who disputed unauthorized charges were prevented from accessing the content they purchasedsays the press release.

In announcing the settlement in December 2022, the FTC chairman said Lina M. Khan said in a press release: “As evidenced by our complaints, Epic has used privacy-invasive default settings and.” fraudulent interfaces This has tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children. protecting the public, And Protecting children from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is the Commission’s top priority, and these enforcement actions make it clear to companies that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices.”

Epic Games said at the time in one opinion published on its website that the video game industry is experiencing rapid innovation and that player expectations are high And that decades-old laws do not dictate how today’s gaming ecosystems should work.

“The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and long-standing industry practices are no longer sufficient,” the company wrote in the Dec. 19, 2022 statement. “We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to work to protect consumers is at the forefront and provides the best experience for our players.”

In The first round of payments was sent out on Monday, half of them sent in the form of PayPal Payments and half were will be sent as checks, according to the press release.

“Consumers selected their payment method when completing their order Application form“, says the press release.