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Mum blasts ‘addictive’ Fortnite game after kids accidentally spent HUNDREDS of pounds on virtual money
A MOTHER has slammed Fortnite as "addictive" after her 10-year-old son was duped into spending money on the game.
The woman, who (per her request) is referred to here as Diana for the sake of hiding her identity, said her son was told he could use a "hack to get free stuff", but ended running up a £52 bill instead.
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Her case isn't a one-off either: dozens of worried parents have taken to online forums to seek help in the wake of their child mistakenly spending cash on the game.
"My son was advised by a School friend of a ‘hack’ which would trick the system into believing he had funds available to purchase v-bucks," Diana told The Sun.
She continued: "Later when I looked at my phone and saw a string of emails from Sony and from PayPal I realised he had made several transactions.
"When I asked him to explain what he had been doing he had no idea he had bought anything."
Fortnite is a gaming phenomenon that's been downloaded 40 million times since its release last summer and is livestreamed by millions of viewers.
The game's popular battle royale mode finds 100 players locked in a last-man-standing deathmatch on an island that grows smaller as the clock ticks down.
Fortnite also helped developer Epic Games nab over $126 million in February alone (according to one ), thanks in part to its freemium model.
That means that while the game doesn't cost a penny to play, it does let players buy virtual cash (known as V-Bucks) in exchange for real money.
The coin can be splurged on weapons and outfits in the game's regularly updating item shop, with 1,000 V-Bucks costing £7.99.
And it seems that in some cases children are unintentionally buying this digital cash using their parents' linked payment information like credit cards or Paypal.
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"My 13 year old has clicked accidentally on buying coins or what ever on the Ps4 game fortnite," reads a typical post on Mumsnet.
The user adds: "His PS4 is unbeknown to me linked to my Paypal. Any idea if I can claim this back. He was literally scrolling though and pressed the a button instead of b it didn’t give any do u want to confirm or redirect to Paypal it was done by that one press of a button.
"Paypal can’t help any ideas I really can’t afford to lose £80 certainly not this month as we are struggling as it is due to car problems."
Elsewhere, a grandparent posted on the MoneySavingExpert website: “Just short of £500 my grandson spent on that game. I’m furious.”
These are the best Fortnite kills and plays we've seen so far
What is Fortnite Battle Royale?
If you're new to the game, here's what you need to know
- Fortnite Battle Royale is a free game
- It's available on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac and now iPhone too
- In the game, up to 100 players are dropped onto a fictional island
- Players are then forced to battle it out in a last-person-standing deathmatch
- To help, players can collect a range of weapons hidden all over the island
- You can also collect resources – like wood, bricks and metal – to build defensive structures
- The area you can play in on the island is constantly shrinking thanks to an encroaching storm
- This means players are forced together over time, until just one person survives
- The game has been a huge hit, and is currently being trialled on iPhone
Diana also told us of another case involving her son's friend who'd spent £160 on the game, resulting in his parents banning him from playing PS4 for a year.
She added that she notified her son's school of the issue to save other mums and dads from going through the same ordeal.
"They've since sent an email to parents advising of the dangers surrounding the game," said Diana.
"Including the online nature and that it may be a ground for grooming and account hacking."
But she would also like to see Epic Games, and console-makers like Sony and Microsoft, take steps to child-proof Fortnite's purchasing process.
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"If the game was complete, i.e no need to purchase extras or, more difficult to purchase extras, it would help," said Diana.
"£50 is a lot of money to us...but we will manage this month. But for some families, £50 is a significant portion of their income and would have a huge impact on their wellbeing, especially as an unplanned purchase."
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