Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Epic Games

2025-08-12T05:47:14Z

2001:569:6FA3:539B:ADB3:E653:526E:9D4C: /* Unreal and Unreal Tournament */ Grammar.

{{StubNotice}}{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Epic Games, Inc.
| Type = Private
| Founded = 1991
| Industry = Video Games
| Official Website = https://epicgames.com/
| Logo = Epicgames.png
}}
'''[[wikipedia:Epic_Games|Epic Games]]''' is a software development and media-publishing company founded in 1991 by Tim Sweeney.

==Consumer impact summary==
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
* User Freedom
* User Privacy
* Business Model
* Market Control}}

==Bad Practices==

===Forced Arbitration===
Epic Games updated their Epic Games Store policy on March 18, 2022 to include forced arbitration in their Terms of Service. The users were required to agree to the new terms in order to continue using the platform. If a user did not agree to the new terms, they were effectively locked out from all of their previously purchased games and software.
[[File:Epic ToS Snippet.png|none|thumb|522x522px]]
==Incidents==

===Unreal and Unreal Tournament===
In 2022, owners of various titles within the ''Unreal'' and ''Unreal Tournament'' series had their licenses effectively expired, and were thus unable to launch or install these games.<ref>https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/xbox/forum/all/unreal-tournament-games/1fd3906c-23d4-4580-b194-4b7ef81dd4a9</ref> (Editor's note: add a screenshot of UT being grayed out in the launcher!)

A few years later, some titles in the series would make their way to the [[Internet Archive]] for users to freely install, but not all delisted games have been re-published onto the platform.<ref>https://archive.org/details/UT99-Complete-Retail</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/ut-99</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/unreal-tournament-complete</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/ut-goty</ref>

===Removal of Linux and MacOS versions of Rocket League===
In 2020, Epic and its subsidiary Psyonix announced that whilst Rocket League gamers had purchased the game with full support for Linux and MacOS, this support was being withdrawn and the game would be offline only for these Operating Systems, and gamers were directed to play the game on Windows instead.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ending Support for MacOS and Linux |url=https://www.rocketleague.com/en/news/ending-support-for-mac-and-linux}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rocket League Support for macOS and Linux (SteamOS) |url=https://www.epicgames.com/help/en-US/c-Category_RocketLeague/c-RocketLeague_TechnicalSupport/rocket-league-support-for-macos-and-linux-steamos-a000084314}}</ref> Many speculated that the change was in relation to Psyonix's acquisition by Epic Games several months earlier. At the time of acquisition Epic stated that gamers "''will still be able to play Rocket League on Steam with all of the content they've previously purchased.''"

===Account requirement for Rocket League===
{{Main|Epic Games forced third party account creation in Rocket League}}
With the v2.48 patch on January 29th 2025, Steam users wanting to play Rocket League were suddenly met with an error upon startup of the game, with the user being required to create an account with Epic Games before being able to access the game they bought and paid for. This change was not mentioned in the patch notes, and was done well after the game was moved from Steam to EGS in 2020.

===Violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and usage of dark patterns===
In December 2022 the FTC announced that it secured agreements that require Epic Games, Inc. to pay a total of $520 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and using dark patterns to trick players into making purchases.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fortnite Video Game Maker Epic Games to Pay More Than Half a Billion Dollars over FTC Allegations of Privacy Violations and Unwanted Charges |url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/12/fortnite-video-game-maker-epic-games-pay-more-half-billion-dollars-over-ftc-allegations}}</ref>

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Epic Games]]

Epic Games

2025-08-12T05:37:39Z

2001:569:6FA3:539B:ADB3:E653:526E:9D4C: /* Forced Arbitration */ Removed duplicate word. Edited for clarity.

{{StubNotice}}{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Epic Games, Inc.
| Type = Private
| Founded = 1991
| Industry = Video Games
| Official Website = https://epicgames.com/
| Logo = Epicgames.png
}}
'''[[wikipedia:Epic_Games|Epic Games]]''' is a software development and media-publishing company founded in 1991 by Tim Sweeney.

==Consumer impact summary==
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
* User Freedom
* User Privacy
* Business Model
* Market Control}}

==Bad Practices==

===Forced Arbitration===
Epic Games updated their Epic Games Store policy on March 18, 2022 to include forced arbitration in their Terms of Service. The users were required to agree to the new terms in order to continue using the platform. If a user did not agree to the new terms, they were effectively locked out from all of their previously purchased games and software.
[[File:Epic ToS Snippet.png|none|thumb|522x522px]]
==Incidents==

===Unreal and Unreal Tournament===
In 2022, owners of various entries within the ''Unreal'' and ''Unreal Tournament'' series had their licenses effectively expired, and were thus unable to launch or install these games.<ref>https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/xbox/forum/all/unreal-tournament-games/1fd3906c-23d4-4580-b194-4b7ef81dd4a9</ref> (Editor's note: add a screenshot of UT being grayed out in the launcher!)

A few years later, some entries in the series would make its way to the [[Internet Archive]] for users to freely install, but not all delisted games have been re-published onto the platform.<ref>https://archive.org/details/UT99-Complete-Retail</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/ut-99</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/unreal-tournament-complete</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/ut-goty</ref>

===Removal of Linux and MacOS versions of Rocket League===
In 2020, Epic and its subsidiary Psyonix announced that whilst Rocket League gamers had purchased the game with full support for Linux and MacOS, this support was being withdrawn and the game would be offline only for these Operating Systems, and gamers were directed to play the game on Windows instead.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ending Support for MacOS and Linux |url=https://www.rocketleague.com/en/news/ending-support-for-mac-and-linux}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rocket League Support for macOS and Linux (SteamOS) |url=https://www.epicgames.com/help/en-US/c-Category_RocketLeague/c-RocketLeague_TechnicalSupport/rocket-league-support-for-macos-and-linux-steamos-a000084314}}</ref> Many speculated that the change was in relation to Psyonix's acquisition by Epic Games several months earlier. At the time of acquisition Epic stated that gamers "''will still be able to play Rocket League on Steam with all of the content they've previously purchased.''"

===Account requirement for Rocket League===
{{Main|Epic Games forced third party account creation in Rocket League}}
With the v2.48 patch on January 29th 2025, Steam users wanting to play Rocket League were suddenly met with an error upon startup of the game, with the user being required to create an account with Epic Games before being able to access the game they bought and paid for. This change was not mentioned in the patch notes, and was done well after the game was moved from Steam to EGS in 2020.

===Violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and usage of dark patterns===
In December 2022 the FTC announced that it secured agreements that require Epic Games, Inc. to pay a total of $520 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and using dark patterns to trick players into making purchases.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fortnite Video Game Maker Epic Games to Pay More Than Half a Billion Dollars over FTC Allegations of Privacy Violations and Unwanted Charges |url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/12/fortnite-video-game-maker-epic-games-pay-more-half-billion-dollars-over-ftc-allegations}}</ref>

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Epic Games]]