Select Fortnite players now need to be 18+ to play the game, but there's a twist

Fortnite is notoriously kid-friendly, but that might change in a small way. Certain versions of the game, according to the latest status update, are about to be age-restricted. The game itself doesn't have any adult content right now, but the restrictions will still come in for certain gamers.

Fortnite Status updated gamers about it. According to them, the rules set on certain platforms will only allow players 18 years of age or older to engage with the battle royale title. This does not apply to other consoles, though. Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC users don't have to worry about anything changing.

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Fortnite to increase age limit to 18 years on certain platforms

The decision to raise the minimum age limit is not Epic Games' per se as they are forced to oblige by the standards set on the platforms they run the game on. This was a big part of the Apple v. Epic trial, and the same concept is at play here.

Apple and Google have certain restrictions and they're forcing players to be over 18 to play the game. They said that they are unable to update the app, but they are more than likely looking into a way to get this done.

Epic generally doesn't stand by when things like this happen, hence why it took Apple to court over the scandal. Even though it lost that case, it showed a willingness to fight for what the developer believes in.

This will likely not be an issue on the same scale as that one, but it is currently a problem facing the game and its community. Those don't usually go unnoticed by the developers, so any affected players don't have to worry about permanently changing platforms.

Fortnite is available on many platforms and it's available to all audiences. This restriction goes against what they want for the game, so a solution will come one way or another.

Certain players cannot spend V-Bucks (Image via Epic Games)

For now, players who can't spend V-Bucks and are under the age of 18, might be better suited to start using a different console or platform.

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Why was Epic sued over Fortnite?

Epic Games was recently sued by the FTC. They alleged that the developer had implemented predatory practices that convinced young players to make purchases they didn't need or actually wanted to make.

Epic was sued for over $500 million, some of which was supposed to go to the victims of the predatory practices. Epic changed their policies after that came down and attempted to make things as clear and easy as possible.

It was a landmark case for this type of issue and it will likely affect all video games moving forward, especially those that are free-to-play and make money on in-game purchases like Fortnite does.