Fortnite maker Epic Games is settling a class-action lawsuit by giving out in-game currency for the battle royale title and Rocket League.
In a tweet from the official Fortnite account, the company said that it would be giving 1,000 V-Bucks to anyone who bought a Loot Llama – blind loot box – in Fortnite: Save the World before the company stopped selling them. As of August 2019, Epic has disclosed the odds of loot boxes in Fortnite: Save the World.
Furthermore, Epic is giving Rocket League players who purchased an Event Crate or Key 1,000 credits for that game, too. This comes as the firm received preliminary approval of this class-action settlement with the Superior Court of North Carolina.
While the firm says that it only legally has to give out the settlement to people from the United States, Epic says it is automatically adding these rewards to anyone who purchased these items. The company says that 6.5 million people bought a Fortnite loot boxes, while 2.9 million Rocket League players bought an event crate or key.
Players who feel they were "harmed or damaged" by their spending in Epic's games can file a claim for a $50 cash payment, or 13,500 in V-Bucks or Rocket League Credits.
Epic bought Rocket League developer Psyonix back in 2019. Randomised loot boxes were dropped later that year, in favour of blueprints.
“We stopped offering random item loot boxes like Fortnite Loot Llamas and Rocket League Crates because we realized that some players were repeatedly disappointed by not receiving the random items they hoped for,” said Epic CEO Tim Sweeney (pictured), speaking to The Verge.
“Players should know upfront what they are paying for when they make in-game purchases.”
This is the result of one of many class-action lawsuits brought against Epic for the loot boxes sold in Fortnite: Save the World back in 2019. The settlement detailed is only preliminary, with a final approval hearing scheduled for May.
Both Epic's lawyers and those for the class of plaintiffs reckon it will be giving the nod.
We're no legal experts, but a company being able to settle a lawsuit by giving out made-up money that cost it literally nothing to make seems curious.
