New legal challenge accuses Epic of "knowingly" creating the "very, very addictive game", Fortnite Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. New legal challenge accuses Epic of "knowingly" creating the "very, very addictive game", Fortnite "If we knew it was so addictive it would ruin our child's life, we would never have let them start playing Fortnite." News by Vikki Blake Contributor Updated on 6 Oct 2019 167 comments A Canadian legal firm is preparing a class-action lawsuit against Epic Games, accusing the developer of "knowingly" creating the "very, very addictive game", Fortnite. "Epic Games, when they created Fortnite, for years and years, hired psychologists - they really dug into the human brain and they really made the effort to make it as addictive as possible," said Alessandra Esposito Chartrand, an attorney with Calex Légal (thanks CBC, Dextero). "They knowingly put on the market a very, very addictive game which was also geared toward youth." Likening the case to the 2015 class-action suit against tobacco companies that saw the Quebec Superior Court ruling determine tobacco companies didn't do enough to warn their customers about the dangers of smoking, Chartrand believes Epic knew Fortnite was "as addictive as possible" and failed in their duty to warn players of the risk of addiction. Consequently, the legal challenge is "very centred on the duty to inform". The legal notice - which was filed on behalf of the parents of two minors, aged 10 and 15 - also draws on the recent decision of the World Health Organisation to list gaming disorder as a disease. "In our case, the two parents that came forward and told [us], 'If we knew it was so addictive it would ruin our child's life, we would never have let them start playing Fortnite or we would have monitored it a lot more closely'," Chartrand added. To play the game, users must surrender their right to sue the company as part of its terms of use and instead go through individual arbitration, but Chartrand believes the terms of service "don't stand up in court in Quebec because the province's Consumer Protection Act requires companies to clearly disclose risks associated with products or services". Chartrand would not be drawn on how much her firm seeks in damages and Epic reportedly did not return CBC's request for comment. Epic Games is also facing a class-action lawsuit following a data breach which exposed personal information from millions of users' accounts. The data breach occurred back in January this year, when hackers found a flaw in Fortnite's login system, allowing them to impersonate players and purchase V-Bucks with the bank information attached to their accounts. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store