For example, kids can be pressured into spending money for in-game currency, or they can hear harmful things in voice chat. Don’t worry though! You can prevent any major problems. And you can make sure your kid is safe while playing Fortnite if you: And, a vast majority of these players fall in the 6-16 age demographic. While it may seem like a harmless battle royale game, it does pose a few risks for kids. As a parent, it’s important that you understand the risks of Fortnite and know how to keep your kids safe. Here’s our complete guide about just how safe Fortnite is for kids.
Fortnite: A Brief Introduction
Fortnite is a free-to-play online multiplayer game with tons of game modes, events, and reasons for your kids to go “Pleeease, can I play it?” While it is a shooting game, violence in Fortnite is never depicted graphically, and it’s never glorified with things like “death cams”. There’s no gore, no graphic violence, and no blood. The graphics and guns are cartoonish in style, which is part of the reason why it’s so popular with kids. And the gameplay of Fortnite is not just focused on shooting. Building defensive structures is another big part of the game. Thus, you can think of the game as a Minecraft meets Hunger Games type of experience. Fortnite has a few game modes:
Battle Royale: The most popular mode, in which 100 players compete against each other until there’s only one left. Creative: In which players build their own games and experiences. Zero Build: Battle Royale without defensive structures. Save The World: A campaign in which players work alone, or in a team, to defeat “zombies” (called husks).
But whatever your kid plays, compared to other popular shooter games, or violent video games, it’s an upgrade. Some might even say an age-appropriate game.
V-Bucks and Battle Passes: How Fortnite Makes Money
The Fortnite game is completely free to play, so you might wonder: how do they make money? In-game power (and your kid’s chance to win a game) cannot be affected by spending real-life money. But there is an entire world of cosmetics, character skins, and dances to unlock.
A very limited amount of these cosmetics can be unlocked through play. But for most of them, you’ll need to spend a lot of V-Bucks, which is the in-game currency. And to get V-bucks, you (generally) need to spend real money. Here is the price comparison:
There’s also the Fortnite Battle Pass that you can get to unlock more cosmetics and gain access to exclusive items. While they play the game, kids can earn experience points, and progress through different challenges to unlock small rewards. With a Battle Pass, they get a lot more rewards and cosmetics for their playtime. In fact, a Battle Pass is probably the most affordable way to get your kid skins, dances, and more.
Battle passes are valid throughout one Chapter of the current Fortnite season. Each season lasts for a year, and each Chapter lasts for two to three months.
Fortnite: Understanding the Risks
Fortnite is an online video game. So naturally, it can pose some risks for your kids. Here are the most common risks associated with playing Fortnite:
Spending your money on V-bucks. The cosmetics that kids can buy in Fortnite are a form of self-expression with their peers. So naturally, some kids can step over the line and buy V-bucks or battle passes without a parent’s consent. Spending too much time in front of the screen. While Fortnite can be fun, it’s important to have clear rules about when, and for how long, kids can play the game. Interacting with random strangers online. Fortnite offers voice chat for players in a team, or when they’re near each other in-game. Like any online interaction, this can be dangerous and may expose them to offensive language, or worse. Playing Fortnite when you’re too young. The ESRB recommends Fortnite for kids 13, or older. You can stick to that recommendation. But if you don’t, make sure you closely supervise kids 12 or younger when playing the game. Going off-platform. A passion for any game can take your kid to unmoderated places like Discord channels (Discord isn’t generally safe for kids), Reddit, or other forums.
None of these are a reason for your kid to stop playing the game. With some safety measures in place, you can make sure they enjoy Fortnite safely.
How Your Kid Can Play Fortnite Safely: A Practical Guide
Unless your kid is 12 or younger, constant supervision is not required while they play Fortnite. But you can take a few steps to make sure your kids aren’t exposed to any harmful risks while playing.
Limiting voice chat and Fortnite parental controls
Voice chat, and interacting with strangers on the internet, is the most immediate risk when your kid starts playing Fortnite. So one route you can go is deactivating voice chat when they play online. Don’t worry! They will still be able to talk with their friends while they’re playing. They’ll just have to join an independent platform to do so, like Discord. To deactivate voice chat (and do plenty more to protect your kid online), you’ll need to enable the Epic Games parental controls. Here’s how to do that: If your child is playing from a console, they might have never opened the Epic Games Store. In that case, you can enable the same parental controls directly from Fortnite, by following these steps:
Payment restrictions: How to prevent unwanted Fortnite charges
From the Epic Games or Fortnite parental controls, you can also set payment restrictions. This will solve the immediate problem — you won’t get charged unless you want to.
But how can you solve the problem in the long term? Should you buy your kid V-bucks and Season Passes? Your kid’s friend group, as well as Fortnite itself, will pressure them into buying cosmetics to use in Fortnite. And it’s understandable. It’s a form of self-expression. So if you can afford it, consider buying them some of these cosmetics. Whatever you choose though, it’s important to set some ground rules:
Have a serious discussion with your kids about what you can afford, and what they can expect in terms of V-bucks and battle passes. Be transparent about the issue. It’s easier for them to take no for an answer if they understand the reasoning behind it. Coordinate with other parents. If everyone in your kid’s group has a Battle Pass, it’ll be harder to say no. So if you can, get in touch with their friends groups’ parents.
Fortnite addiction: A real problem?
Since Fortnite is a video game, the issue of game addiction can be concerning to some parents. And for all of its perks, Fortnite is a game that does its best to keep gamers hooked. So if your kids play Fortnite, it’s important to stay informed about video game addiction, and stop it in its tracks.
Fortnite and beyond: How to protect your kid online
With a little care, Fortnite itself can be a safe environment. But a passion for Fortnite can get make your kid look for guides, and friends with common interests. This will take them to other places online, which will in turn expose them to a plethora of other risks, like malware, hacking, or even cyberstalking. Here’s how to protect your kid from these risks: A VPN can also help you unlock Fortnite after an unjust ban. And don’t worry if this sounds confusing. NordVPN, our top recommendation, is very easy to us e: If you want to find out more about using a VPN with Fortnite, don’t forget to read our article about the best free VPNs for Fortnite.
Wrapping Up
Fortnite can pose some risks for kids. There’s the risk of kids spending your money without your permission, and becoming addicted to the game, and the worst one is when they start interacting with strangers, which poses other risks like grooming. Fortnite may seem like a harmless game, but it’s important for parents to monitor their activity. Similarly, you may want to read about the risks posed by other online software:
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