(Photo Source: cnet.com)
Fortnite accused of being as addictive as cocaine
The makers of the popular video game Fortnite are caught up in a lawsuit, being accused of designing the online video game to be addictive. In the Canadian lawsuit (seeking class-action status) reportedly likens the gameplay to taking cocaine.
A legal notice was filed Friday in Quebec Superior Court by Montreal-based law firm, Calex Légal, on behalf of two-parent. The legal notice stated, “The addiction to the Fortnite game has real consequences for the lives of players: Several don’t eat or shower, and no longer socialize.”
The parents approached the firm separately about their 10- and 15-year-old sons, claiming that their children developed a severe dependence on the game.
Fortnite, which allows up to 100 players to fight in a virtual battlefield, took off in 2018, becoming one of the biggest free-to-play games on consoles. Epic Games raked in $3 billion last year and currently has around 250 million users worldwide.
The lawsuit also accuses Epic Games of failing to “warn about the risks and dangers inherent in their product.”
The suit also claims that because of the game’s addictive nature, rehabilitation centers specifically dedicated to addiction to Fortnite have opened all over the world.
Last year, the World Health Organization declared video game addiction, or “gaming disorder,” is a disease.
By: Maytinee Kramer
