Tim Sweeney of Epic Games has claimed Fortnite is essential for kids growing up, as he opposes a proposed EU ban on young children playing online games.
Even with video games being more mainstream than ever, they’ve never completely escaped being a scapegoat for politicians, especially during a time when there’s increasing concerns about kids’ safety online.
Earlier this year, amid plans for a social media ban for teenagers, there was talk of restricting voice chat for children in games such as Fortnite and recently it’s been reported that the European Union could implement a ban on online games in their entirety for anyone under 15 years old.
While this is a layered issue, too complex to be solved by just banning kids from playing certain games, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney has criticised these plans in the most baffling way possible by suggesting that not letting kids play Fortnite ‘would be terrible for the next generation of humanity.’
To be clear, the plans haven’t been made public yet and even if they are real may never be implemented. Word of them spread earlier this week via a Reuters report, where the ban would apply to not just video game platforms, but social media and AI chatbots.
Under this proposal, children aged 13 and 14 can still set up ‘introductory accounts’ but these would offer limited access and require parents’ permission. Children aged three to 12, though, would only have accounts for services deemed child-friendly, and these would be fully controlled by their parents.
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On X, Sweeney bluntly says, ‘This would be terrible for the next generation of humanity. The apps and games of today are the paintbrushes and tree forts of yesterday.
‘Fortnite has Creative Mode, Roblox has Roblox Studio, and being a digital creator is in everyone’s reach, till politicians take it away.’
Obviously, Sweeney is going to push back against this because if such a ban were implemented, that’s less people playing and spending money on his game, but comparing Fortnite to paintbrushes and tree forts is so extreme it borders on parody.
His argument seems to be that preventing kids from playing Fortnite risks stifling creativity, but it’s not as if Fortnite is the only avenue available to young people looking to flex their creative muscles. Not when paintbrushes still exist.
The unfortunate reality is that gaming platforms like Fortnite and Roblox aren’t entirely child-friendly. Fortnite has faced accusations of using its advertising and microtransactions to pressure kids into spending money on cosmetics and it got in hot water with its Darth Vader AI chatbot last year, after people realised they could trick it into repeating slurs.
Roblox, meanwhile, has had to contend with lawsuits and petitions claiming it’s become a hotbed for inappropriate content, which prompted it to implement age verification checks.
All this would be less of a problem if companies like Epic Games regulated themselves, but the goal with games like Fortnite is to have as many people playing them as possible. That can’t be achieved if it makes accessing the game more difficult, especially for kids who have far more free time than adults.
Sweeney and Epic also have incentive to build up Fortnite’s audience as, by their own admission, the game isn’t turning a profit, which is why the price of microtransactions went up and hundreds of employees were let go recently.
The current season of Fortnite is aiming to capitalise on gaming nostalgia by adding a whole load of classic video game characters, including Sonic The Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, and Pac-Man – all of which are traditional child friendly characters that don’t usually use guns.
Epic also announced a Kingdom Hearts-themed crossover that adds Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Roxas as skins, which are now available for purchase for both the main battle royale mode and Lego Fortnite.
It’s also running Kingdom Hearts Power Hours where, for a limited time, all players start with a keyblade sword and a sea salt ice cream healing item. This will only run this Saturday on September 19 from 7pm to 9pm BST and then 2am to 4am BST on September 20.
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