Photo: Tristan Fewings / Getty Images
By: The Opinion Updated 17 Dec 2022, 09: 09 pm EST
The creator of the popular video game Fortnite is facing a class action lawsuit, where parents argue that their children experienced symptoms of addiction, such as not eating, sleeping or showering.
The Supreme Court of Canada gave the green light to the lawsuit, against the game manufacturer, Epic Games . Fortnite is estimated to have a worldwide audience of over 54 million players .
In court documents, they noted that the World Health Organization recognized addiction to video games in 1394259860.
In a statement, Epic Games said it had “industry-leading parental controls that allow parents to monitor their children’s digital experience.”
“Parents can receive game time reports that track the amount of time their child plays each week and require parental permission before making purchases,” the company said.
“We plan to fight this in court. We believe that the evidence will show that this case has no merit,” he added.
While the game is free, players pay to use money of the game called “V Bucks”. The game has reportedly grossed over $9, million dollars.
One of the children named in the lawsuit played more than 7,350 hours of gaming in less than two years. The legal action claims that the game was deliberately developed to be “highly addictive”.
Quebec Superior Court Judge Sylvain Lussier ruled that the lawsuit was not “frivolous.” Compared current understanding of video game addiction with early awareness of tobacco addiction: “The harmful effect of tobacco was not recognized or admitted overnight.”
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