On September 24, 2026, Dutch consumer foundation Stichting Massaschade and Consument (SMC) announced a mass claim against Epic Games on behalf of everyone in the Netherlands who played Fortnite before turning 21. The foundation alleges Epic pressured young players into purchases with countdown timers that suggested offers were about to vanish, when they often stayed up for days.
Filed, or Not Yet?
Several English-language reports describe this as a lawsuit that has already been filed. SMC’s own announcement says something narrower. The foundation has formally held Epic liable and invited the company to talks about a collective settlement. Only if those talks do not happen, or go nowhere, does it plan to take the case to a Dutch court. For now, no judge is hearing it.
The widely reported figure of more than €100 million also does not appear in SMC’s announcement. NL Times reports the combined refunds and damages would exceed that amount; we have not seen the foundation’s own calculation.
What SMC Is Claiming
The foundation wants four things from Epic:
- Refunds of what children and young adults spent under that pressure.
- An end to what it calls Fortnite’s addictive design, plus damages for its effects.
- Separate damages for collecting children’s personal data without parental consent.
- Compensation for players it says were misled.
The Dutch regulator ACM fined Epic €1,125,000 over misleading and aggressive sales to children in Fortnite’s Item Shop, and in January 2026 the Rotterdam District Court upheld that fine. SMC says Epic has not appealed further, which makes the ACM decision final. The foundation also points to Epic’s 2022 United States settlements with the FTC, $245 million over unwanted purchases and $275 million over children’s privacy.
In a statement sent to NL Times, Epic disputed the premise: “The Fortnite Item Shop does not have a timer.” Epic added that it offers parental spending and playtime controls, the ability to cancel purchases immediately, returns from the Shop, and two-factor authentication for purchases.
What This Means for Players
Signing up is free and runs on a no cure, no pay basis, via SMC’s Fortnite claim page. You qualify if you live in the Netherlands now, lived there when you played, played at any point after September 26, 2017, and were under 21 at the time, even if you are older now. Nothing changes in the game itself: SMC says it is not seeking a ban on Fortnite.
For the game itself, our Kingdom Hearts crossover coverage explains what that collaboration added, and our guide on how to beat Geno walks through that fight. If shop pressure is the part that bothers you, our guide to earning Marvel Rivals Units without paying shows how another free-to-play shooter’s currency works, and our best co-op PS5 games list has alternatives.
Source: Stichting Massaschade and Consument, press release, September 24, 2026; Epic Games statement to NL Times, September 24, 2026.