Fortnite Gifting opens loopholes for malicious transactions
With Fortnite being one of the best games out there it’s no surprise that Epic Games makes a killing with in-game purchases. Over $300 million a day from what I last read to be exact. It’s also no surprise that kids have used their parent’s credit cards without permission to get some of those must-have skins as well. It seems that Epic has gotten hold of the credit card issue but has opened a new door for kids to get skins from their parents.
While not all parents play Fortnite, there is a huge percentage that does. I am one of those. So, it is not uncommon to find parents playing with their kids in matches. What happens though when a parent that plays Fortnite leaves their computer unlocked? Their kid now has an opportunity to go into their parent’s account and gift a new skin to them. While there are security measures out there like setting up Two Factor Authentication, parents would not think that their kid would go into their account and steal from their Fortnite account.
Fortnite Gifting loophole hits close to home
Well, that is exactly what happened recently to me. I am not big on spending money on in-game purchases. Personally, I think they look cool but what’s the point if they don’t offer any advantage? So, I budget what I allow my children to purchase in-game. So what happens if a cool skin comes out and they have already blown their budget? Sometimes I will sway and get it for them. But not always. Recently, the soccer skins came out. My son really wanted one but did not have the V-Bucks to get any. Naturally, he asked me for some V-Bucks. I said no. But then I thought about it, I went to log in to get the skin for him and I notice my V-Bucks were down. I didn’t have any receipt for anything and had no idea what happened.
Well, the next day I see my son log into his account as he was about to play and I see a present with a message, “You have a gift from f1ss1on”. It was the soccer skin he wanted. I knew exactly what happened then.
What happens next is what gets interesting. I look all over my Epic Games account for some sort of history of the gift transaction. There is nothing. I looked for a way to reverse the gift. Nothing. So my next step was to reach out to Epic Games.
Epic Games not holding players accountable with Fortnite Gifting
I sent an email out to Epic Games and explained what happened. I asked for them to return the skin because, in all morality, I could not let him keep the skin. Epic games responded with an unexpected result. Their response was that they would not refund the skin and that it was basically my fault. I received this response and then I responded saying that I wasn’t looking for a refund, but to reverse the transaction because it was done without permission. What happened was the same as if someone used my credit card to purchase something from the store. Again, they responded with the same cookie cutter answer.
It seems as though Epic is not willing to hold players accountable. This is a loophole that will be exploited as it becomes more known. Now, I am not saying gifting is bad. It’s actually a really great idea. But there should be some sort of history and ability to reverse transactions. I get it, kids are kids and they make mistakes. I don’t want to permanently prevent my child from playing Fortnite but at the same time, I cannot let him keep that skin either. This is a huge moral issue going on.
Conclusion
I agree that Epic Games should reserve the right to deny refunds to in-game purchases. However, in certain circumstances, when purchases and gifts are done maliciously, they should be returned. In-game currency that is paid for is the same as real money. It is not only Epic Games’ responsibility but any gaming company that has an in-game currency that is purchased with real money.