Epic Games Joins the Family Online Safety Institute

Washington, D.C. --  Today, the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) welcomes Epic Games as its newest member. 

Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company and provider of 3D engine technology. Players around the world have fun, connect with friends and create experiences across Epic’s ecosystem including in Fortnite, Rocket League, the Epic Games Store and Unreal Engine. 

“We’re impressed by Epic’s efforts to create a positive environment on their platforms, and we  look forward to having their voice in the FOSI community, “ said Stephen Balkam, FOSI CEO. “Their commitment to protecting younger users both in terms of safety and privacy is very encouraging.”

“At Epic Games, we want to be on the forefront of creating fun and safe games and experiences for people of all ages. Across our ecosystem, we set clear guidelines for respectful behavior and provide tools that enable players and parents to manage their digital experience. We are pleased to join FOSI and support their work to keep kids safe online,” said Candela Montero, Senior Director, Public Policy at Epic Games. 

Epic empowers parents and players to choose the experience that is right for their family. Parents can use Epic’s Parental Controls  to manage their child’s permissions for chat, adding friends, purchasing in the Epic Games Store, and filtering mature language in text chat in Fortnite. All experiences in Fortnite have an IARC-assigned rating ranging from E to a maximum rating of Teen, so families can make informed decisions about what and how they play. 

When a player indicates they are under 13 or their country’s age of digital consent their account will be a Cabined Account, which provides a safe and inclusive space to play Fortnite, Rocket League and Fall Guys. They will be asked to provide a parent or guardian’s email address to receive consent to access certain features including chat and to make real money purchases. Additionally, players under 18 have more protective settings from the start. Voice and text chat are disabled by default and player profile details are hidden. Players under 16 have the mature language filter for text chat defaulted on and players under 13 have a daily spending limit. To learn more about Epic’s community guidelines and the tools they provide for players and parents to manage their experience, visit Epic’s Safety and Security Center. 

About FOSI 

The Family Online Safety Institute is an international, non-profit organization that works to make the online world safer for kids and their families. FOSI convenes leaders in industry, government and the non-profit sectors to collaborate and innovate new solutions and policies in the field of online safety. Through research, resources, events and special projects, FOSI promotes a culture of responsibility online and encourages a sense of digital citizenship for all. FOSI's membership includes many of the leading Internet and telecommunications companies around the world.

About Epic Games

Founded in 1991, Epic Games is an American company founded by CEO Tim Sweeney. The company is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina and has more than 50 offices worldwide. Today Epic is a leading interactive entertainment company and provider of 3D engine technology. Epic operates one of the world’s largest games, Fortnite, and Epic has over 750 million accounts with over 5.4 billion friend connections across Fortnite, Fall Guys, Rocket League, and the Epic Games Store. Epic also develops Unreal Engine, which powers the world’s leading games and is also adopted across industries such as film and television, broadcast and live events, architecture, automotive, and simulation. Through Fortnite, Unreal Engine, Epic Games Store, and Epic Online Services, Epic provides an end-to-end digital ecosystem for developers and creators to build, distribute, and operate games and other content. 

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