Epic Games Refutes Claims They’ll “Add Gambling” To ‘Fortnite’ Via User-Created Loot Boxes, Calls Them “Paid Random Items” Instead
Epic Games have refuted claims they are going to “add gambling” to Fortnite via user-created loot boxes. The company insists creators will have to disclose the odds on “paid random items.”
Josh Challies of Insider Gaming reported the claims on Fortnite‘s upcoming content from leaker @ShiinaBR. While their posts on X about the alleged upcoming content appears to have been deleted, it reportedly discussed Chapter 7 allowing creators using the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) to sell loot boxes.
Challies reported that “It’s not entirely clear whether official Fortnite experiences will support gambling” — or if those loot boxes will be part of the item shop. Nonetheless, the leak claimed V-Bucks can be spent on “random items,” though creators will need to disclose the “gambling odds,” and the content may be blocked in some nations due to “experiences with gambling.”
Lending credence, X user @neefnoofishere voiced their disgust at the alleged post, and Challies reports user-created content could already feature random items being bought with virtual currency — that cannot be purchased with real money. An example includes ‘Miner Tycoon,’ with buying upgrades shown proudly in a trailer on the official Fortnite YouTube channel.
Epic Games had previously announced plans to allow developers to sell in-game items in December 2025 (and keeping 100% of revenue until the end of 2026), and the same day of the Insider Gaming report made the feature available for testing. In the same news post, Epic Games emphasized users sell “Paid random items (items that provide a chance to receive a random reward).”
“New parental control will let parents decide if their child can acquire paid random items in regions where these are available to players,” Epic Games insisted.
Curiously, Epic Games forbids “Items using any custom or external checkout process, ” despite pushing for exactly that against Apple and Google over buying V-Bucks directly from Epic.
The Insider Gaming report used the word “gambling” eight times in the main body of the article, which may have prompted Epic Games to speak out. Later the same day, Challies reported that Epic Games had requested a correction to his report, and denied that gambling was coming to Fortnite.
Epic highlighted the Fortnite Developer Rules Section 1.11: “All Bets Are Off – Don’t implement playable gambling content, raffles, or casino-style games. These are prohibited whether or not they involve real money or virtual currency.”
Section 1.15.5 further notes that in keeping with the game’s age rating “Gambling: Islands that teach or prominently feature images or activities that are typically associated with real-world gambling, casino style games, or games of chance that offer a prize, even if they are not directly simulating a gambling experience, are not permitted in any form.”
Epic Games told Challies (as he had already stated in his report) developers must “disclose the actual numerical odds of what the player may receive before the player makes a purchase” of “paid random items.” Challies reports that Epic Games denies gambling and paid random items are the same.
“Despite Epic Games’ arguments, the above still constitutes gambling,” Challies defies. “Any paid-for item with a chance of a specific reward is still gambling, just as loot boxes in other titles qualify as gambling.” Challies goes on to highlight how the Belgium Gaming Commission banned loot boxes in 2018 (being “in violation of gambling legislation”).
This would prompt several publishers to pull their offending games from service in the nation.
This isn’t the first time Epic Games have been under scrutiny over Fortnite‘s monetization, nor loot boxes, nor Epic Games defending them. 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II featured such an infamous loot box system. Fans calculated players would need to spend 4,500 hours of play or $2,100 to unlock everything — prompting governments around the world to question if it was gambling.
Alongside the aforementioned Belgium, The Netherlands deemed loot boxes gambling in 2020 — fining EA €10 Million, and banning loot boxes in 2022. Even this year we’ve seen Genshin Impact distributor Cognosphere being fined $20 million by the FTC deceptive practices, privacy violations; and banned from selling loot boxes to under-16’s without parental consent.
Though the UK would end up deeming loot boxes were not gambling, they incited Epic Games and others to speak with the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee in 2019. The proceedings would lead to some eyebrow raising comments in defending loot boxes.
Canon Pence (Epic Games’ General Counsel) and Matthew Weissinger (Director of Marketing) denied the claims of a six-year old buying £1600 in virtual items; arguably hounded by the Committee speaker over it despite their insistence on Epic having measures to prevent such things.
They were cagey on sharing Fortnite’s monthly player revenue and how long gamers were playing for as it was “competitive information”, “corporate secrets,” and “commercially sensitive.”
After being badgered for any ground the Committee could scrutinize over, Pence let loose the howler of claiming “I would disagree with the statement that Epic makes money from people playing the games.” While technically meaning it’s the sale of items that makes Epic money (not playing Fortnite), the speaker soon called them out, and the headlines rolled.
If not for EA also being in attendance and their representative calling loot boxes “surprise mechanics,” it would have been the most infamous statement of the whole proceedings.
Epic Games now declaring loot boxes aren’t “paid random items” is sure to evoke memories of EA’s (if not the gaming industry’s) worst excuse in favor of loot boxes.
