Fortnite: Parents in the United States have been offered refunds for Fortnite purchases.

Parents in the US whose children purchased items from the popular game Fortnite without their permission can request a refund starting today.

The US regulator accused the game of luring players into making unwanted purchases and violating privacy.

Fortnite developer Epic Games has agreed to pay $245 million (£198 million) in refunds in 2022.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has begun contacting 37 million people to make them aware of the compensation.

Fortnite is one of the most popular video games in the world with more than 400 million players.It is a free-to-play video game, meaning that while there are no upfront costs, it earns money when players make in-game purchases.

The FTC said Epic Games misled players with "deceptive interfaces" that could trigger purchases when the game loaded and accused the company of having default settings that violated people's privacy.

In total, the company agreed to a $520 million settlement with Epic Games over concerns.

This includes a $275 million fine related to the way Fortnite collects data about its users, including those under 13, without informing parents.

It is the largest fine ever imposed by the FTC for rule violations.

The remaining amount will be paid out as a refund.

Although there is no similar agreement in the UK, Epic Games marketing vice president Matthew Weissinger previously told the UK government that it would refund parents in the UK whose children made purchases without their knowledge.

The BBC has contacted Epic Games and UK regulators to ask whether there are plans to issue refunds to customers in the UK.

Hot Drop

Under the US agreement, refunds will be provided for in-game purchases such as outfits and loot boxes, as well as Fortnite's virtual currency V-Bucks.

Those contacted by the FTC have until January 2024 to apply.

This includes claims from anyone in the United States who believes they were charged in-game fees for items they did not want between January 2017 and September 2022.

This particularly includes people who state that their child made purchases using a credit card without their knowledge, even though this must have taken place between January 2017 and November 2018.

Finally, individuals who can prove that their Fortnite account is no longer accessible after filing a complaint about unlawful charges with their credit card company may seek compensation.

“Leader in consumer protection”

When the deal was first announced, Epic Games said it had made several changes to Fornite to address the problem of unwanted in-game purchases.