Epic Games Being Sued for Making Fornite “Too Addictive”
Epic’s been sued for several issues involving Fortnite since the game’s launch in 2017, with reasons ranging from dance moves put into the game without their creator’s permission, to security issues related to a data breach last November.
Now the company again finds itself in hot water as a family in Montreal, Canada is now suing over allegations they purposefully made Fornite addictive to keep children hooked on the game.
The Lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, the recent move by the World Health Organization to label video game addiction as a disease spurred on the suit, as the prosecuting party alleges Epic purposefully designed Fornite to be as addicting as possible to children and had avoided informing parents that the game could be addictive.
The lawsuit harkens back to a 2015 ruling in Quebec that ruled tobacco companies were guilty of not giving those who bought cigarettes sufficient warning of possible addiction, with Fortnite likened to cocaine in terms of how it releases a rush of dopamine to the brain.
Concern for the Game Industry
The lawsuit has caused concern across the gaming industry, with many worrying that success in the suit could open the floodgates for ill-informed parents unleashing a torrent of legal battles against developers over a perceived failure to not make their games too enjoyable.
While such a lawsuit seems silly, gaming has a long history of being the focus of blame for other members of society, with the mainstream media and politicians especially becoming more vocal in their blame as of late.
As many of you may recall, US President Donald Trump earlier this year blamed video games for the increase in mass shootings across the country, while games like Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto have been under siege since their initial titles launched decades ago.
Clinics have even been set-up around the world where parents can take their kids for “rehab” from game addiction, with many of these places treating it like alcohol or drug dependence.
Personal Opinion – Is Fortnite Actually Addictive?
Personally, this case seems rather moronic and I hope the judge for it can see just that.
Media is always designed to entice people to enjoy it, whether it be a movie so hyped you need to see in theaters or a song being so good you want to see the band live.
Now some games are designed to be addicting, but these are almost always in regards to a gambling mechanic inserted into the game to get “whales” to spend thousands of dollars on them.
Fortnite doesn’t even have lootboxes in it, and you can only buy a limited selection of items in the shop at any given time, so I don’t see how making it as addictive as cocaine would benefit Epic more than any normally made game.
This just seems like another case of parents trying to blame game developers for their poor parenting or inability to properly discipline the kids.
My major concern is how many more wannabe lawsuits pop up from this from people trying to sue and make a bunch of money.
No damages sought have been brought up in the case so far, but if it’s an eye-watering amount of money, expect copycat lawsuits to pop up soon after.
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