"By doing so, the defendants have unlawfully and intentionally violated rights to life, security and integrity," the application says.Įpic Games is now worth billions of dollars, with the most recent version of Fortnite played by more than 125 million worldwide. It argues that US-based Epic Games has "knowingly and voluntarily developed, manufactured, published, and marketed a dangerous product that has been designed to create dependency." The second child, who is now 15, participated in 7781 game in less than two years, and plays Fortnite "at least three hours a day", the application says. The 2019 Fortnite World Cup was held in July in New York. "All of his savings and all his family's gifts in money are spent to buy Playstation cards allowing him to buy cosmetic items like character models." "As soon as he invites friends to the house, the main activity is playing Fortnite whereas in the past it was going to the park, playing basketball or board games. "When he loses he gets angry and starts playing tirelessly until his parents asked him to stop, which is a great source of conflict," the application says. He played almost 2000 games over several months, appears "very frustrated and angry" when his parents try to limit play, and "very aggressive and vulgar" when he's playing with his friends. 'All his savings are spent to on loot boxes'Īccording to the application, the younger of the two children began playing Fornite in December 2018, when he was nine years old, and in the days following "quickly developed a dependence".
The law firm agues Epic is acting like cigarette manufacturers, who in 2015 were found guilty of failing to comply with Quebec laws to not cause harm to others, and to inform customers of the risk of their products, and ordered to pay US$15 billion in damages. In addition, it says Fortnite designers use "the same tactics as slot machine creators" by incorporating variable reward programs into the game - the mystery loot boxes bought with real money and filled with randomised virtual items. It also cites a report by addiction psychologist Dr Anita Gadhia-Smith that likens the addictive qualities of playing Fortnite to cocaine addiction. Soon, normal levels of dopamine no longer satisfy them, which drives the person to require more and more dopamine to feel good. "When a person feels pleasure while playing Fortnite, their brain releases the pleasure hormone dopamine, and when a person plays over a long period, their brain continually receives dopamine," the application says. The application notes that in 2018 the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially classified gaming addiction as a mental disorder in response to the growing body of evidence that compulsive gaming can light up the brain with dopamine in a similar way to drug addiction.
"The development team worked with to ensure that their attention was captured throughout the tests by tracking down the slightest loss of attention," the application obtained by Hack says. In a 38-page application to the Superior Court of Quebec in Montreal, the law firm Calex Legal says Fortnite was "specifically designed to be the most addictive game possible", and Epic Games consulted a team of psychologists to achieve this.
A Canadian law firm has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite on behalf of the parents of two children, arguing the game has been designed to be addictive to young players.
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