Epic Games, the company behind the wildly successful Fortnite game, is being sued in the Canadian Supreme Court by group of parents who say the game is too addictive for their children.
Justice Sylvain Lussier has agreed to allow the class action to proceed after hearing from three parents who described their children’s symptoms of dependence after they played the game.
“The court concludes that there is a serious issue to be argued, supported by sufficient and specific allegations as to the existence of risks or even dangers arising from the use of Fortnite,” the judge ruled.
The judge also said the action “does not appear frivolous or manifestly ill-founded”.
There are more than 250 million registered users playing Fortnite around the world since its release in 2017 and it is rated as suitable for teenage players.
One of the parents involved in the suit said their son had played 6,923 games and became enraged when his parents tried to restrict his screen time.
Another child reportedly played more than 7,700 times in two years for a minimum of three hours a day.
Both children were reported to now have behavioural issues.
The lawsuit is alleging Epic Games deliberately designed Fortnite to create a dependency among users to continue to play but without providing warnings about the risks of addiction.
Epic Games legal representatives said the evidence provided by parents was insufficient while also pointing out that video game dependence is not a condition recognised in Quebec where the matter is being heard.
The American Psychiatric Association also says there is insufficient evidence to put this in the same category as a mental disorder.
According to CTV News, attorney Alessandra Esposito Chartrand says Epic games created Fortnite after years of development and even hired psychologists to make the game as addictive as possible.
“These games are created with algorithms and dark patterns that are made to addict you,” she said.
“And once the pattern starts it’s very, very, very hard to get out of it.”
“There’s something about Fortnite that is completely unique. There are no other games that have therapy centres dedicated to players of that game.”
The World Health Organisation has recognised video game addiction as a mental health disorder.
Epic Games has vowed to fight the lawsuit in court and said in a statement: “We have industry leading parental controls that empower parents to supervise their child’s digital experience.”
