Fortnite Isn't a Safe Place for Kids, But At Least It's On the Money

Over the past month, we've witnessed the definitive Robloxification of Fortnite, but at least Epic Games has shown it cares a little more about the well-being of minors than Roblox. 

Starting January 9, Fortnite's Creative Mode (where users can create their own islands using an arsenal of development tools) opened the floodgates to monetization of individual experiences. This means island creators have been able to open their own in-experience shops selling digital items of all kinds.

If this sounds familiar, it's because that's exactly Roblox's business model: a free platform with free experiences, each featuring microtransactions. To attract users to its ecosystem, Epic has promised to take 0% of every in-experience transaction, meaning 100% of the profits go to the creators.

One of the most popular islands is a copy of Steal a Brainrot, the Roblox experience that at one point had more concurrent users than all of Steam. As soon as Epic opened its doors, the creators introduced microtransactions that were effectively gambling: real money in the form of V-Bucks in exchange for a spin on a wheel of fortune with various possible in-game rewards.

Fortunately, this didn't last long: Epic stepped in a few days later, banning all real-money transactions involving spinning wheels or slot-style machines to earn in-game items. In Epic's words: "Do not offer on-island transactions that directly or indirectly affect a prize wheel in any way. For example, offering a 'spin' or 'luck boost' for a prize wheel as an on-island transaction is not permitted."

There's a reason why monetization by island creators came so long after the introduction of Creative Mode: given a sufficiently large and young audience, attempts at deception and exploitation are inevitable. Epic has chosen to follow Roblox's path to erode the "3% of all gamers" that the yellow platform owns.

It has suffered a price in credibility, but at least it was quick to ban practices that mimic gambling without even attempting to hide it. Brian Sharon, senior communications manager for Epic Games, said the company will "constantly review developers' practices and update its ecosystem rules accordingly." 

Roblox's influence is evident, and the unfair practices and abuse of consumers (especially minors) so typical of Roblox have sprung up the moment the guardrails were removed. At least Epic maintains its swift action pace (which hasn't always been for the better), whereas Roblox struggles even to ban convicted sexual predators.

Thanks for reading the third weekend edition of Letter to a Gamer. This is the new look for this newsletter: one in-depth monthly feature on an important and under-explored topic.

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Riccardo "tropic" Lichene