 |
| Epic Games prohibits players under the age of 18 from playing Fortnite |
The developer (Epic Games) of the famous Fortnite game has announced that version 13.40 of the game will not be available to players under the age of 18 on Android and iOS.
Although Fortnite has been removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play, users who previously installed it can still play it. The game crashes on version 13.40.
And (Epic Games) said that starting January 30, players will not be able to use the in-game currency called (V-Bucks).
"We want all versions of our games to take advantage of the latest Epic Online services including: parental controls, virtual purchases, and parental verification features," the company said in a tweet. She added, "Thanks to Google and Apple, we are unable to update the app on these systems due to Fortnite restrictions."
In December, Epic Games made changes to prevent children from spending money on the Fortnite in-game store and using voice chat without parental consent.
That same month, the company agreed to pay a $520 million fine related to FTC charges that Fortnite violated Children's Online Privacy laws and defrauded users into unintended purchases.
Although (Epic Games) fixes these issues with new updates, the game Fortnite on iOS and Android devices cannot receive these updates. So blocking access to anyone under the age of 18 was the company's only option.
To counter FTC claims that Fortnite tricked players into making accidental purchases, the company is working to block the issuance of V-Bucks.
It is important to note that since the popular game does not need to be accessed through the App Store or Google Play, most players are unlikely to be affected by the new restrictions that will be rolled out in a few days.
For example, Apple device users can access games through NVIDIA's GeForce Now game streaming service, and Android users can download games from the official Epic Games website.