FTC finalizes fine for Fortnite’s dark patterns as Epic talks up NFT ‘games’ on EGS

March 23, 2023 12:30 PM

Usually when people says things are going “pretty well,” your first sympathetic instinct is to ask about what might be troubling them; those words aren’t often used as an indication of sunny days and strong business dealings. But those words were used by Epic Games’ store GM Steve Allison when asked about the company’s decision to embrace crypto and NFT games on its storefront, scooping up the “games” industry giant Valve turns away on principle.

According to Allison, EGS has five crypto games on its shelves. Two of the largest such titles on EGS are Blankos Block Party and Core, the former being described by Allison as “pretty well-played” and the latter as doing “pretty well”; no actual metrics for either game’s performance were shared, obviously.

In spite of this vague performance evaluation, Allison notes Epic Games plans to welcome around 20 more crypto games to EGS over the next year, after which the company appears willing to re-evaluate its position. Even so, Epic founder Tim Sweeney is still bullish on crypto and NFT games, as he calls out Steam’s repudiation of these titles as “blocking everybody who doesn’t go along with [collecting] their 30% fees,” which of course is not really the relevant issue for Valve or for other companies that have barred these types of “games.” In fact, just in the last few weeks, MMO players can point to at least one crypto title that was booted off Steam in spite of being willing to pay those fees.

Epic’s dodgy business practices did at least cause it to receive one bite mark, as the Federal Trade Commission finalized its order for the company to pay $245M last week for its use of deceptive dark patterns to trick people into unwanted purchases. The money will be used by the FTC to issue refunds to affected players.

In other EGS-related news, the addition of an Unreal Editor for Fortnite appeared on the storefront. This new add-on works in concert with the existing Creative toolset and is described as a way for users to design, develop, and publish “games and experiences” directly into the shooter. The toolset is scheduled to release on March 22nd.