Epic Games and Apple haven’t been on speaking terms since late 2020. The relationship between the two parties went downhill after Epic came after Apple, as the developer didn’t agree with the monopolistic nature of the App Store.
A lot has happened since the initial incident, but Fortnite fans on iOS devices are still stuck with a 2020 version of the game, and their situation is looking to get worse after Jan. 30.
At the end of January, Fortnite players on patch 13.40 won’t be able to spend V-Bucks, and they’ll also need to be over 18 years of age to play the game. While the change will affect Apple users the most, it doesn’t have anything to do with the tech giant.
In the name of protecting young players, Epic’s looking to use the latest suite of its online services, which also includes parental controls, verification, and purchasing settings, therefore requiring the shutdown of certain features in older versions of Fortnite.
This news hit the deck after Epic’s violation of the “Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act” in late December 2022. The developer was under the radar after countless reports from parents featuring unauthorized credit card purchases.
When these charges were disputed, Epic made sure to lock affected accounts which further expanded the controversy. In addition to changes to the purchase and parental systems, Epic’s also paying $520 million as compensation to the Federal Trade Commission, and $245 million of it will be used to settle with affected users.
These changes impacting certain players are expected to be implemented on Jan. 30.
Published: Jan 25, 2023 07:11 pm