Tag: Epic Games

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Epic Games CEO rages over people making fun of Elon Musk’s Twitter Blue

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney had a bit of a meltdown over the weekend regarding Elon Musk’s recent removal of legacy Twitter verification.

On April 22nd, Sweeney took aim at those who were supporting the ‘#BlockTheBlue’ campaign, in which people would block accounts that paid for Twitter Blue, calling them “losers and goons.” Strangely, Sweeney — a billionaire thanks to the likes of Fortnite and Epic’s ubiquitous Unreal game development engine — then proceeded to make a reference to his high school experience. “They’re [#BlockTheBlue supporters] the cool kids from junior high who worked to exclude we nerds from cool kid events, plus the losers who joined in to gain cred,” he tweeted.

Given that Sweeney is 52, it’s unclear why he’s trying to draw parallels to actual bullies from 30-plus years ago to people who are now simply taking issue with Twitter Blue. He also got upset when people replied with a popular meme laughing at those who subscribed to Twitter Blue.

For many, the issues with Twitter Blue stem from how it’s defeated the purpose of verification by allowing any random person to just pay to acquire a checkmark. When Twitter Blue checkmarks launched last year, we quickly saw parody accounts impersonate the likes of Nintendo, Valve and even Musk himself. In the era of misinformation, verification has also been especially important to help identify the correct figures in their respective fields, be they actors, politicians, media or medical professionals. For some, “BlockTheBlue” also helps avoid Musk’s avid cult fans who viciously attack others for daring to criticize the billionaire.

Later in his thread, Sweeney went on to say that “an online community like this should be a meritocracy, where everyone has an equal chance, and merit is earned rather than anointed by a corporation.” (It’s unclear how paying for a checkmark equates to “earning” merit.)

“Then someone well-meaningly built a system for preventing impersonation through verification. But they broke the meritocracy with a policy deeming verification only for elite “noteworthy” users, while letting Twitter employees hand out verification to their friends as a perk,” Sweeney added. “At peak, friends of friends of Twitter employees were brokering verification.”

Admittedly, Sweeney does have a point in that there were issues regarding who could be verified prior to Musk’s takeover. For example, celebrities like Canada’s own Seth Rogen blasted previous CEO Jack Dorsey for the platform’s verification of “white supremacists.”

However, Sweeny would later questionably say that the “Key point is, this had NOTHING to do with verifying identity documents to prevent impersonation. They didn’t do that. Twitter employees just clicked a few buttons and you were verified.” Twitter’s own Community Notes feature quickly fact-checked this tweet by pointing out that the legacy verification system did, in fact, require identity verification like government ID or official websites that list your Twitter handle.

Sweeney was also corrected for claiming that Twitter had an “unwritten practice of using verification to condition user speech,” including un-verifying controversial Black supremacist Louis Farrakhan. Community Notes pointed out that one of the requirements for having a blue checkmark was to not have had 12-hour or 7-day lockout from your account for violating rules. In 2018, Twitter said Farrakhan broke its rules by making an anti-Semitic tweet.

It’s also interesting to see Sweeney liken the pushback against Twitter Blue to a bullying “pressure campaign,” as that’s exactly what he attempted to do through Fortnite a few years back. Amid Epic’s highly publicized battle with Apple over the latter’s App Store policies, the Fortnite developer ran a controversial ad in the game to galvanize its millions of young players to fight the iPhone maker. Elsewhere, Sweeney himself made a highly questionable comparison between the Epic-Apple dispute and the civil rights movement.

But apparently, Sweeney draws the line at those making fun of a fellow billionaire and his fans.

Source: Tim Sweeney

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Fortnite may return to iOS this year, teases Epic Games CEO

Fortnite may finally return to iOS in 2023, according to a vague tweet from Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney.

On New Years Eve, Sweeney simply tweeted “Next year on iOS!” with a follow-up tweet containing an in-game image from Fortnite.

Sweeney didn’t provide any clarification, however, so it’s unclear if and when this might even happen. That said, it would be quite notable if it did, given that Fortnite has been banned from the App Store since 2020. At the time, Apple claimed that Epic violated its App Store policies by launching an in-app payments platform, which would circumvent its requirement to give up a 30 percent revenue share.

Given how much Sweeney has openly criticized Apple, it’s unclear whether he’d come to an agreement with the company. What could happen eventually, though, is Epic just making its own marketplace, now that the EU has ruled that Apple must allow third-party marketplaces on its devices starting in 2024. Epic also continues to contest Apple’s App Store policies in court.

Source: @TimSweeneyEpic

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MrBeast is coming to Fortnite and bringing his $1 million Extreme Survival Challenge with him

YouTube content creator and known philanthropist Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson is coming to Fortnite. This week, players can purchase a MrBeast and MrBeast6000 skin and jump into the new Season 3 Chapter 4 update. With the arrival of his skin, MrBeast is also hosting the Extreme Survival Challenge.

In collaborating with creator Atlas Creative, MrBeast’s Extreme Survival Challenge island can be found in-game. Starting on December 17th at 12pm ET/9am PT, players can try their hand had this MrBeast-inspired challenge. Players must “avoid hazards, collect coins, and survive extreme challenges.” Doing so will earn them “Score.” Players must rack in as much Score as possible before time runs out in the match.

MrBeast’s Extreme Survival Challenge will run for a total of three hours, concluding at 3pm ET/12pm PT on December 17th. Once the allotted time has concluded, the player with the highest Score will earn $1 million USD (roughly $1.3 million CAD). However, the top 100,000 players of the tournament will be awarded the Beast Brella Umbrella cosmetic.

The challenge island goes live on December 13th, allowing players time to get a feel for what’s to come on the 17th. The island can be found on the ‘Discover’ screen or from the island code 7990-6907-8565.

Additionally, there are a series of MrBeast’s Extreme Survival Quests going live on December 13th. Coinciding with the island’s arrival in Fortnite at 9am ET/6am PT, completion of these Quests will earn players the MrBeast Gaming Spray and MrBeast Survival Games Loading Screen.

Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1 debuted earlier this month. It notably brought the new Trail Thrasher mini-bikes, hurdle moveset and several weapon balances.

Additionally, Epic Games and Fornite have been caught in a bit of legal trouble as a class action lawsuit accusing Fortnite of being addictive has been authorized by the Quebec court. Epic Games has states that the case is “meritless” and that the company plans to fight it in court.

Image credit: Epic Games

Source: Epic Games

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Class action lawsuit, accusing Fortnite of being addictive, authorized by Quebec court

A class action lawsuit against Epic Games’ Fortnite is being authorized by Quebec Superior Court Justice Sylvain Lussier. The filing claims Fortnite is designed to be addictive and is having a negative effect on players.

The original lawsuit was first brought to Quebec courts in 2019. At the time, three Quebec parents issued a complaint that Fortnite was impacting the wellness of their children. The parents accused Epic Game’s hit battle royale of affecting the sleeping patterns, hygiene and social skills of their children.

In the filing, one parent claims that a child involved has been diagnosed with an addiction to Fortnite/video games. It’s said the diagnosis was determined by an on-call doctor at a clinic located in Lower St. Lawrence, Quebec. The filing also cites the 2018 acknowledgement of “gaming disorder” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

On top of inciting supposed addictive tendencies, the class action lawsuit also notes the in-game purchases of Fortnite. The plaintiffs discuss the game’s Battle Pass system, various skins, and V-bucks, which are all available for purchase. Allegedly, one child spent $6,000 on skins. Another is said to have spent $600 on V-Bucks, the in-game currency of Fortnite. Superior Court Judge Sylvain Lussier describes both as items “without any tangible value.” In terms of in-game time spent, it’s said one child has spent more than 7,000 hours playing Fortnite over the past two years.

The class action lawsuit is being worked on in part by Jean-Philippe Caron, a CaLex Legal lawyer. Carson states Fortnite “has design patterns that make sure to always encourage player engagement.” He also encourages parents and others whose lives have been negatively affected by Fortnite to get in touch. The judge has modified the criteria for joining the class action. Now, those living in Quebec since September 1st, 2017 and have developed a “dependence” on the game may qualify.

The debate over video game addiction is nearly as old as the medium itself. Much like the WHO, some believe video games can impair a player’s daily life due to how much priority one puts into a game. The use of microtransactions and in-game rewards have also been scrutinized as it often mirrors gambling and associated addictions.

However, this discussion often brings up whether the onus belongs to the developers and publishers, especially when dealing with minors. When it comes to players under the age, many argue that parents should have a better understanding of how their child is spending their time and the ways real-world money can be spent on consoles and PC.

The plaintiffs hope to see “restitution” from Epic Games for all V-Bucks purchases made by Quebec players under the age of 18.

Epic Games has yet to make a statement regarding the lawsuit.

Image credit: Epic Games

Source: CBC

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Get the Matrix Awakens demo before it’s removed on July 9

The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience is available right now on both PlayStation and Xbox stores for a limited time as the game is about be delisted from both stores.

On July 9th, The Martrix Awakens will be removed from the PlayStation and Xbox stores. After that, you will not be able to re-download it from stores unless it was added to your library and downloaded before its removal.

The game lets you experience the reality of The Matrix and includes characters such as Neo and Trinity. Epic Games did not say why the demo is being removed.

Released in December 2021, The Matrix Awakensi s worth trying, considering it’s running on Unreal Engine 5. This turned out pretty well in terms of realistic city-scape graphics, according to a full review from The Verge.

For the time being, it is still available for download on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S through their respective stores.

Image credit: Unreal Engine

Source: Epic Via: The Verge

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Epic Games offering Killing Floor 2, Ancient Enemy and more free until July 14

Epic Games has unleashed some free games for players along with a sale on some games until July 14th at 11 am EST. There will also be free games available as of July 14th.

Here’s a list of games that are free or on sale:

Also available for free July 14th – July 21st:

For more information, check out the details on Epic Games’ website.

Image Credit: Epic Games

Sources: Epic Games Via: Red Flag Deals

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Fortnite drops Among Us collaboration with new items

Popular battle royale game Fortnite is launching a collaboration with Among Us that offers several new items.

The partnership includes an ‘Among Us Crewmate Back Bling’ with ten different colours to choose from that react to your gameplay, followed by a ‘Distraction Dance Emote’ from Innersloth’s The Henry Stickmin Collection that distracts anyone around you that may be the imposter.

Items will be available for free in the Epic Games Store with the purchase of Among Us’  in-game currency from June 9th, 2022, to June 9th, 2023.

There’s no confirmed date yet regarding when the items will be available in the Fortnite store.

Epic Games released an ‘Imposter mode’ for Fortnite back in August 2021 but later confirmed that the game mode was inspired by Among Us.

Among Us is available on Android, iOS, Steam, itch.io, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, Epic Games, and Windows.

Fortnite is free on Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and the Epic Games Store.

Image credit: Innersloth

Source: Innersloth

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When to jump into today’s Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2 Collision event

Today, Fortnite is holding its Chapter 3 Season 2 Collision event. It’s been quite some time since Epic Games introduced a wider-scale event of this magnitude. These special events encourage players to jump in as the studio closes the book on another season.

This event is dubbed Collision and promises another epic-scaled battle. Similar to previous Fortnite events like the Chapter 2: Season 3 event, which saw players go toe-to-toe with Galactus, Collision sees players battle giant mechs. The one-time event will likely be offered in a special playlist.

For those keeping up with the long-running story and lore of Fortnite, Epic has been teasing Mecha Strike Commander with different parts of his body showing new features. In an ongoing puzzle, content creators have been able to piece together that the mech’s arm looks to be a run. While other parts house rockets and other armaments.

Players will likely be joined by The Seven going up against the Imagined Order once again as they use The Collider to consume The Loop.

Here is when the Fortnite Collision event begins:

North America: 1pm PT / 2pm MT / 3pm CT / 4pm ET
UK/Ire: 9pm BST
Europe: 10pm CEST / 11pm EEST
Asia/Oceania: 5am JST / 4am AWST / 6am AEST

The event concludes Chapter 3 Season 2. Following the Collision event, Fortnite will undergo some small and larger changes. New POIs will likely appear. A new Battle Pass will be available as will a shift in the meta.

Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3 begins on June 5th.

Image credit: Epic Games

Source: @fortnite

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Epic Games and Lego join forces to develop a kid-friendly metaverse

Epic Games and the Lego Group are joining forces to make the metaverse a safe place for kids.

As announced in a news release, the two companies are entering a “long-term partnership” that will oversee the development of a family-friendly, immersive and engaging digital experience.

While the two companies did not talk about specifics about the games/experiences they plan to develop, they did state that there are three principles that both the companies have agreed upon to ensure an engaging and safe digital haven:

  • Protect children’s right to play by making safety and wellbeing a priority
  • Safeguard children’s privacy by putting their best interests first
  • Empower children and adults with tools that give them control over their digital experience

Epic already has a kid-friendly virtual world in Fortnite where people come together to hang out, attend concerts, and enjoy crossovers with different brands like Marvel and DC. Combining the game development prowess of Epic Games with Lego, a brand that has long been associated with kid-friendly toys and games, is likely going to be a win-win for both the companies and its patrons alike.

This sentiment was echoed by Tim Sweeney, Epic Games co-founder and CEO. “The Lego Group has captivated the imagination of children and adults through creative play for nearly a century, and we are excited to come together to build a space in the metaverse that’s fun, entertaining, and made for kids and families,” Sweeney said in a statement.

As of right now, there is no tentative time frame for when the partnership materializes into something concrete.

Image credit: Epic Games

Source: Epic Games

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Epic Games isn’t a fan of Google’s new User Choice Billing

Google announced this week that it would expand a third-party Play Store billing system established in South Korea to other regions in a test pilot dubbed ‘User Choice Billing.’ Although the system will allow developers to use third-party payment options alongside Google’s Play payments program, some have voiced dissatisfaction with it.

Epic Games, which sued both Apple and Google over their respective app stores after both companies removed Fortnite for using alternate payment systems, told The Verge that both companies continue to “inflate prices” and reduce choice:

“Apple and Google continue to abuse their market power with policies that stifle innovation, inflate prices and reduce consumer choice. One deal does not change the anticompetitive status quo. We will continue to fight for fair and open platforms for all developers and consumers and work with policymakers and regulators to hold these gatekeepers accountable for their anticompetitive conduct.”

As a quick refresher, Google’s User Choice Billing system will allow developers to offer third-party payment alternatives alongside Google’s payment system. So far, Spotify is the only company that’s joined the system and it plans to build out the “new experience” over the “coming months.”

Epic confirmed to The Verge that it was not part of the pilot. However, the company didn’t clarify whether it rejected an offer to be in the pilot or if it wasn’t asked to participate at all.

Part of Epic’s dissatisfaction with User Choice Billing likely stems from the fact that Google still charges a fee to use it. In its current form, developers who offer User Choice Billing will pay Google four percent less than they would if they just used Google’s billing system.

The system fails to give developers a way to avoid paying fees to Google. More egregious is that internal Google documents detailed in a 2021 report indicated the company could break even with just a six percent fee — under User Choice Billing, most developers using third-party payment systems would still be on the hook to pay Google an 11 percent fee.

Source: The Verge