Fortnite adds new parental controls to help keep your kids' gaming in check

Epic Games is launching two new parental control features for its popular games, Fortnite and Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), aimed at helping parents manage the time their children spend playing. The new controls, announced Tuesday, are Time Limit Controls and Time Reports.

"Parents will now have the option to set time limits for their child's account in the parental controls section of the Fortnite main menu or on the Epic Account portal," Epic Games said in a statement.

These features will allow parents to restrict daily playtime, choose specific windows for gameplay, and set time limits within those windows. They can also decide if their child can request extra time when approaching their limit. If a time limit is set, children will receive in-game notifications 30 minutes before their time is up.

"Once the child reaches their limit, they will not be able to access Fortnite or UEFN until the next day or until the next allowed time window, unless a parent grants more time," the company explained.

The controls are compatible across consoles and devices, ensuring that the limits remain effective as long as the child uses the same account.

Epic Games has faced criticism in recent years, with some parents filing lawsuits accusing the company of designing games to be addictive.

"It's a small step in the right direction," said Elaine Uskoski, an author, speaker, and coach specializing in video game addiction, in an interview with CBC News. "But the issue is that kids are clever and often find ways to bypass these controls."

Parents who opt into the Time Reports feature will receive a daily summary of their child's time spent playing Fortnite and UEFN, including any extra time granted. Epic Games also offers existing controls that allow parents to manage how their child interacts with others in the game, including control over social features such as voice and text chat, and purchasing permissions.

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"We’re not really addressing the core issue, which is that video games themselves are designed to be addictive, and certain children are more at risk," Uskoski noted.

In 2022, a Vancouver parent filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite, arguing that the game was intentionally designed to be highly addictive for children. A Montreal legal firm had made a similar request in 2019, seeking to launch a class-action lawsuit on behalf of two minors, comparing the game's addictive nature to cocaine.

A 2020 Canadian study found that six to 11 percent of gamers develop problems due to excessive video gaming, such as prioritizing gameplay over school or work. The study highlighted that modern video games are engineered to be more addictive than games from previous decades, fueling the video game industry's profits. The report also suggested that these technologies are designed to trigger dopamine and adrenaline responses in the brain, offering instant gratification with minimal effort or risk.