Parents whose children are addicted to the popular video game Fortnite can still hope for compensation as a class action lawsuit can be filed against designer Epic Games.
• Also read: Class action lawsuit: Court dismisses Fortnite game developer’s appeal
• Also read: Child protection: Epic Games, the publisher of Fortnite, pays $520 million
“It’s progress for our members, that’s for sure. Now we can start gathering evidence from May or June of this year,” Me Jean-Philippe Caron, attorney at law firm Calex, which is responsible for the class action lawsuit, said in an interview.
The makers of the Fortnite video game have been dismissed by the Quebec Court of Appeals in hopes of blocking a class action lawsuit that was approved against them last December.
The parents of three underage gamers opted for this lawsuit in 2019 because they accused Fortnite of creating a gambling addiction “similar to that which heroin or cocaine can produce,” described Judge Sylvain Lussier in his decision issued almost three months ago.
Damage payment
However, with the Court of Appeal denying Fortnite’s motion, the parents of video game addicts will have to wait a while before they are compensated for the harm they say they have suffered, as evidence is yet to be provided. The class action lawsuit has just been approved.
However, parents could receive compensation depending on the psychological and physical consequences of their child.
“Amounts spent by underage players to purchase VBUCKS [un type de monnaie inventé par le jeu] could also be returned,” added Me Caron, but added that it was too early to discuss the details.
Lots of damage
Several of the Fortnite players “had developed issues of not eating, not showering, and not socializing,” we read in Judge Lussier’s decision, made last December.
The parents of one of the teenagers at the center of the class action lawsuit soon noticed a change in their then 15-year-old son after he signed up for Fortnite.
” [Il] spent several hours a day playing Fortnite, whether at home or during his breaks from work,” read the December verdict.
As of March 17, 2020, the teenager had played the equivalent of 42 full game days.
Despite numerous attempts by parents to limit their son’s playtime, such as padlocking the computer, the teenager’s condition deteriorated. At some point, his parents no longer recognize him.
“Aggressive and vulgar”
“He is no longer interested in family activities […]he neglects his studies […] and when he plays Fortnite with his friends, his language becomes very aggressive and vulgar, which is not the case in real life,” the document reads.
The game would be a source of conflict in the family as the teenager gets more and more angry when he loses but doesn’t want to stop playing. The youngster goes as far as abusing his gaming gear to vent his anger. He even had his first panic attack while playing Fortnite, which his parents said had never happened to him.
One day when they went to their son’s financial institution, they noticed several thousand dollars being spent in his bank account. The teenager therefore admitted to having spent most of his savings, which would eventually be placed in an account for his studies.
Similar behaviors were also observed in the other two children involved in the collective action.
video game addiction
Symptoms seen in children addicted to the Fortnite video game include migraines, back and neck pain, poor basic hygiene, trouble sleeping, and significant social disruption.
Unusual spending in the child’s or parent’s bank account can also be observed, as the young “addict” can go so far as to spend astronomical sums in VBUCKS, the common in-game currency, in order to stand out from the other players.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes this disease as “video game playing behavior characterized by a loss of control over the game, increased priority given to the game, and increasing engagement with the game despite the harmful effects is “.
In 2021, Fortnite generated over $5.8 billion in revenue, surpassing 2020’s $5.1 billion
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