A Dutch consumer foundation has formally held Epic Games liable for the way Fortnite sells to young players, and is seeking refunds and damages that press reports put at more than €100 million (around ₱7.1 billion). Stichting Massaschade & Consument (SMC) announced the mass claim on September 24, saying Epic systematically pressured minors into buying with countdown timers and bright "Get it now" buttons.
The case is Dutch, but the design choices it targets are the same ones Filipino children see in the Item Shop. Below is what SMC alleges, what regulators have already ruled, how Epic has responded, and where the Philippines stands.
What SMC says Epic did wrong
SMC's release makes four main claims:
- Pressure tactics. Countdown timers suggested an item was about to disappear when it often stayed on sale for days. Bright yellow buttons and phrases such as "Get it now" pushed players to buy on the spot.
- Timing. Citing research by two University of Amsterdam academics, SMC says Fortnite sells to players while they are in the middle of a match, when they are least critical.
- Addictive design. The foundation wants Epic to stop design choices that keep players logging in, and to compensate for harm caused by them.
- Children's data. SMC also seeks damages for collecting personal data from children without parental consent.
SMC estimates that around one million people in the Netherlands played Fortnite while they were minors. It is inviting anyone who played before turning 21, including people who are now adults, to register free of charge. Lucia Melcherts, SMC's chair, said the foundation is not asking for a ban on Fortnite, but argues that since a regulator has found Epic broke the rules, players who spent money under that pressure should get some of it back.
Inven Global's report adds that SMC also points to voice and text chat being enabled by default for minors, and to Epic not verifying player ages. The €100 million-plus figure comes from that and other press coverage; SMC's own release does not name a total.
The regulator already fined Epic once
This claim builds on an existing ruling. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) fined Epic €1,125,000 (around ₱80 million) in May 2024 for unfair commercial practices aimed at children, split into two fines of €562,500 each. One covered direct exhortations such as "Get it now" and "Buy now"; the other covered countdown timers in the Item Shop for items that were still on sale after the timer had reached zero.
Epic objected, and lost. The ACM confirms that the District Court of Rotterdam upheld the fines and the binding instruction on January 14, 2026. One report dates that ruling to January 2025; the ACM's own publication gives 2026, which we follow here.
SMC argues the fine was a fraction of what Epic earned from Fortnite in the Netherlands, and that a fine does not return money to the players who paid.
The US precedent SMC is pointing to
SMC contrasts the Dutch outcome with the United States, where the Federal Trade Commission's action ended in refunds. Epic agreed in late 2022 to pay $245 million (around ₱15.3 billion) to refund players for unwanted purchases and $275 million (around ₱17.2 billion) over collecting children's data without parental consent. SMC's release recounts the FTC's finding that Epic staff had proposed an extra confirmation click before purchases, and that the company declined because it would slow impulse buys.
How Epic has responded
Epic disputes the allegations. According to Game World Observer, the company denied the claims and pointed to parental control tools covering purchases and play time. Inven Global reports that Epic says players under 16 in the Netherlands receive a "Cabined Account" that blocks real-money purchases until a parent consents, and that PIN requirements and purchase confirmation steps are in place.
What happens next
SMC says it has served Epic with a notice of liability and asked for talks on a settlement. If those talks fail, the foundation will take the case to court under the Dutch collective action system. SMC also notes a new European proposal, which it calls the Kids Act, that would put online games under the same rules as social media, including bans on re-engagement notifications and daily login rewards for minors. That proposal, SMC says, would not cover past conduct, which is why it is pursuing the claim.
Where the Philippines stands
Fortnite is available to Filipino players on PC and console, and Epic prices V-Bucks locally. When Epic aligned pricing for the Philippines in October 2024, Dexerto reported the new peso prices at ₱351.99 for 1,000 V-Bucks, ₱879.99 for 2,800, ₱1,407.99 for 5,000 and ₱3,522.99 for 13,500. The same shop timers and "Get it now" prompts at issue in the Netherlands appear in the Philippine version of the game.
There is no Philippine regulator action against Fortnite, and no local claim of this kind. The country's child-online-safety push has so far focused on other platforms: Roblox has committed to national ID age checks and a Philippine office, the DILG has flagged grooming risks on Roblox while DICT named Discord as the next target, and the Senate is weighing a minimum age for social media. None of those measures deals with in-game shops or countdown timers.
For Filipino parents, the practical takeaway is the one the Dutch regulator's case established: a timer in a game shop is not proof an item is about to vanish, and purchase confirmation and PIN settings are worth switching on. Whether Filipino players ever see refunds of the kind SMC is chasing would depend on a local regulator or court taking up the same design questions, and none has yet.
