Skip to main content

Epic Games graded ‘F’ on customer service by Better Business Bureau

Epic Games, the studio behind the massively popular Battle Royale shooter Fortnite, was awarded an “F” rating for its customer service by the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

The Better Business Bureau tagged Epic Games with its lowest possible rating because of “unanswered customer complaints.” The bureau said that it has 279 complaints against the studio on file over the past three years, with 271 complaints logged in 2018. Out of the total number, the Better Business Bureau said that 247 are unanswered.

Recommended Videos

More Fortnite coverage

According to the BBB, most of the complaints against Epic Games deals with its customer service, and issues regarding refunds or exchanges. The bureau cited two particular complaints, one that alleged the company failed to protect customer security resulting in several unsanctioned charges, and another on the lack of a phone number or at least prompt email response time for the removal of an unauthorized charge of $160.

The Better Business Bureau added that it has tried to contact Epic Games, but it has not received a response from the Fortnite maker.

It should be noted, however, that the BBB is not an official government or regulatory body, and is instead a national network of non-profit groups that aims to make businesses better through services such as dispute resolution, calling out fraudulent practices, and providing people with information through company pages and grades.

Epic Games, meanwhile, has already addressed the complaints on  its page on the Better Business Bureau but through its own channels, a spokesperson for the studio told Kotaku.

“Epic Games is not affiliated with the Better Business Bureau and has redirected all player submitted complaints from the BBB to our Player Support staff,” the spokesperson said.

The chances of the studio moving up to C+ in the eyes of the Better Business Bureau, however, will be affected by the launch of the Epic Games store. The Steam competitor, which started offering free games with underwater survival game Subnautica last month, recently secured its first major partnership with Ubisoft’s The Division 2.

The Epic Games store may be shaping up as a legitimate challenge to Valve’s Steam, but it opens up the studio to the chance of receiving more customer complaints. The Better Business Bureau will likely stay tuned.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
How did multiple unannounced games leak through the Epic Games Store?
Final Fantasy 16's cover showcasing its protagonist infront of two demon summons.

In an event not seen since numerous video games leaked through Nvidia GeForce Now, a third-party tool accidentally exposed a bunch of listings on the Epic Games Store. A website called EpicDB featured public pages for a bunch of unannounced titles from Square Enix, Sony, Sega, Saber Interactive, and many other publishers.

While a lot of what people found were codenames Tuesday night, going through the metadata and looking at related files revealed a lot about what they could actually be. The story is a bit confusing, so let's break down exactly what went down, what games leaked, and what steps Epic is already taking to prevent it from happening again.
So, what happened?
EpicDB is an Epic Games Store equivalent of SteamDB, an unofficial database of everything on the digital games platform. Valve doesn't publicly release sales data, but you can glean a lot from SteamDB's charts and lists, which provide a more detailed view of how games are doing on Steam. It's a great way to see if player count is spiking, what has been wishlisted the most, and how games do over multiple years.

Read more
You can now play this underrated Marvel RPG for free thanks to Epic Games Store
Lilith, Mother of Demons, in the Marvel's Midnight Suns trailer.

If you missed out on Marvel's Midnight Suns, the 2022 turn-based RPG from XCOM developer Firaxis Games -- and based on the poor sales numbers, a lot of you did -- you can now play it for free thanks to the Epic Games Store.

The storefront has a new free game for users to claim every week, and this time it's Marvel's Midnight Suns. However, you only have until June 13 to claim the game for free. The deal only applies to the base game, although the two editions with extras are also on sale. The digital+ version comes with 11 premium skins and is on sale for $20 (down from the $80 full price). If you want access to all the post-launch characters -- Deadpool, Venom, Morbius, and Storm -- along with those premium skins, you can purchase the legendary edition for $25 (down from $100).

Read more
Epic Games just teased a Fallout and Fortnite crossover
Two vault-dwellers and a helmet from a set of power armor.

With Fallout being everywhere right now, it's only fair that it joins Fortnite, too. Epic Games teased on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday that the iconic open-world RPG series will be coming to Fortnite.

While there aren't any public details yet on what will be offered during this collaboration, we can expect some Fallout-themed weapons and some skins. Maybe a vault dweller suit or some power armor? Since Epic put a thumbs-up emoji in the caption, it's safe to assume that Vault Boy will be involved.

Read more