Fortnite Introduces New Rules Banning ‘Prize Wheel’ Gambling While Allowing Loot Boxes

After a week of backlash, Epic Games has responded to a recent update that allowed Fortnite Creative builders to implement in-game purchases on their islands. Shortly after this feature launched, the creators of the popular Creative map, Steal the Brainrot, introduced random item bundles priced up to 4,900 V-bucks (with a 5,000 V-buck pack costing around $36). They also included a prize wheel mechanic where spending V-bucks could enhance your “luck” with each spin.

Now, Epic is stepping in with some new guidelines.

On Friday, the company announced a change to its developer rules set to take effect on January 20: “Do not offer any in-island transactions that directly or indirectly influence prize wheels,” reads the new rule. Epic provided examples such as a “luck” boost similar to that in Steal the Brainrot, purchasable content for wheel spins, and any paid wheel spins.

However, it seems the ability to charge for random, loot box-style items on Creative islands will remain unchanged. Brian Sharon, a senior communications manager at Epic Games, clarified, “No paid random items are coming to Epic-made games.”

Epic’s developer guidelines specify the settings that must be enabled on an island to sell random items to players. These include requirements like disclosing the odds of receiving specific items and a cap of 5,000 V-bucks on items for sale. While Epic’s own Fortnite experiences don’t feature these mechanics, they are still present within the game.

Epic also provides a range of parental controls to prevent younger players from making unauthorized purchases. Nevertheless, allowing Creative developers to sell random loot feels like a step backward for Fortnite.

In 2022, Epic Games reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations of using “dark patterns” to mislead players into making unwanted purchases and allowing children to incur unauthorized charges without parental consent. Three years prior, Epic had removed loot boxes from the game. In its 2022 statement, Epic pledged “no gambling ever” while introducing new parental controls.

With random loot now available for purchase on Creative islands, this shift seems to contradict Epic’s previous stance. Currently, Epic Games allows creators to keep 100% of the revenue from their islands, meaning they aren’t profiting directly from these random loot boxes. However, starting in February 2027, revenue from Creative island transactions will be split evenly between Epic Games and the island developers.

While the assurance that no paid random items are coming to Epic-made games may be sufficient for now, once Epic begins to profit from Creative island transactions hosted within Fortnite, it raises the question: shouldn’t these be considered Epic products? Given this context, it’s hard to see this issue resolving anytime soon.