'Addictive as cocaine:' Parents sue Fortnite creators

MONTREAL — A class action lawsuit was filed by a Canadian law firm on behalf of two parents who said their children have an addiction to Fortnite.

The law firm representing them, Calex, announced the suit Thursday, Oct. 3 in a statement.

The lawsuit claims Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, “knowingly put on the market a very, very addictive game which was also geared toward youth,” Alessandra Esposito Chartrand, a lawyer with Calex, told the CBC.

The parents said Fortnite creates a chemical addiction in players by releasing dopamine in a way that is similar to taking drugs like cocaine.

Fortnite creators allegedly worked with psychologists to make the game as addictive as possible, Calex attorney Jean-Philippe Caron said in an interview with a radio host at Montreal station CHMP-FM.

The lawsuit said Epic Games should have warned players of the risks they’ll face by playing the game and that the game company knew their creation was “dangerously addictive.”

Fortnite is rated T for teen, which means only people age 13 or up are supposed to play it.

Caron said the wildly popular game, which even inspired a World Cup-style competition with a $30 million prize pool this summer, earned Epic Games $2.4 billion in 2018, according to a Nielsen report.