Epic Games lawsuit settled with V-Bucks (and some real money) [UPDATE: Epic Statement]

Epic Games reached a settlement in a class action suit dealing with loot boxes in both Fortnite and Rocket League. More specifically, we're talking about Fortnite: Save the World and Rocket League as played by players in the United States, and the settlement has to do with "random item loot box" purchases. The settlement includes millions of dollars in USD cash, but the basic payment to most users "who bought a random item loot box" will be V-Bucks – virtual currency.

If you're an everyday average gamer who plays Fortnite: Save the World, or Rocket League, you may be eligible to receive some sort of benefit, here. It would appear that Epic will "deposit 1,000 V-Bucks" or "1,000 Rocket League Credits" into your account, dependent on which account purchased a "random item loot box" while they were still active.

So technically, Fortnite might just be sending out massive amounts of virtual currency to gamers, and that's it. However, the settlement "also provides up to $26.5 million in cash and other benefits."

Players of either game that "believe they were harmed or damaged by virtue of their in-game Fortnite or Rocket League purchases and meet certain criteria" will be able to file a claim for more benefits from this suit. Claims can reach up to $50 in a "cash payment" or an amount of virtual currency beyond the basic 1,000.

Perhaps the most interesting bit of the whole settlement has to do with players of the game that made purchases "without parental permission." If said players "are minors that made in-game purchases without parental permission," they can seek partial refunds up to an amount of $50, just like the rest of the players, BUT! They "must agree to the closer of their child's Epic Games accounts."

That's going to be an interesting discussion at home for parents and children involved in this situation, of that you can be sure. There's an Epic Games Settlement website made specifically for this case if you'd like to take a peek and learn more.

UPDATE: Epic Games sent the following statement – "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 Tim Sweeney, Epic Games CEO. "Players should know upfront what they are paying for when they make in-game purchases."