Fortnite Battle Royale

How Fortnite works

Fortnite is a free-to-play online shooting and crafting video game created by Epic Games that is available on all major video games consoles and devices. It features a wide variety of game modes. Some focus on players fighting to be the last to survive, while others revolve around building and creativity. While the majority of Fortnite games are online multiplayer, there are modes that can be played solo.

Minimum age requirements

Fortnite has a PEGI rating of 12+. Despite this, Fortnite allows children under 13 to play the game providing they have parental permission. Children aged under 13 will be automatically given a cabined account when signing up for Epic Games. This restricts many features such as communication with other players. These restrictions can not be removed by the child.

Young people only receive a cabined account if they enter an age under 13 when signing up. If they claim to be older, they can create a standard account without restrictions. There is no age verification to prevent this. To ensure your child benefits from the protection of a cabined account, you should set up their account together if they are under 13.

Features

Battle Pass

A paid subscription for Fortnite that grants players with cosmetics which change the player character’s appearance to reward time spent playing the game.

Battle Royale

The most popular mode on the game, it allows players to competeto be the last player standing.

Cabined account

A restricted account for users aged under 13 that does not have access to the chat function or microtransactions. 

Chat

Allows players to communicate with each other.

Creative

Players can use Creative to design their own island on which they can create their own game modes for their friends and other users to play.

Emotes

Dance moves and actions that characters can perform. These can be unlocked or purchased with V-Bucks (Fortnite’s in-game currency).

FNCS 

The ‘Fortnite Champion Series’ is an in-person tournament where the most notable Fortnite players compete in Battle Royale. 

Fortnite Leaderboard

A feature for Discord that was created by Epic Games, allowing users to view their Fortnite stats compared to their Discord friends.

Lobby 

The waiting room that players are in while the game gathers 100 players to begin. They can be customised by players and shared with other users. There is a rigorous review process to ensure no inappropriate or harmful content is made available.

Rocket Racing

A Fortnite game mode that was made in collaboration with Rocket League. Players race customisable vehicles across a wide range of tracks. 

Skins

Outfits that can be purchased using V-Bucks. They change the appearance of the player’s character.

Social tags

Tags describing how users play the game that players can add to their profile. These can describe their favourite mode, playing style or competitive preference.

V-Bucks

The in-game currency of Fortnite. They can be used to purchase outfits, emotes and other in-game add-ons.

Terms

AFK

An abbreviation for ‘away from keyboard’, meaning the player needs to step away from the game briefly.

Back bling

Backpacks that players can purchase for their characters to wear. These often cost V-Bucks. 

PvP

When players compete in combat against other players. 

What Fortnite offers

Creative outlet

Fortnite focuses heavily on crafting, with players being able to build structures during games and even create their own islands and games in Creative mode. This encourages problem solving and can teach the basics of game design, as a user can bring their ideas to life.

Social connection

Many game modes in Fortnite involve playing as a team with other players. This can help build their socialising and teamwork skills as they all work together towards a common goal.

Entertainment

Fortnite has a variety of game modes and collaborations with brands which may be appealing to young people. With updates coming regularly, there is always something new to do on the platform.

Managing risks

Contact with strangers

The majority of Fortnite games are online multiplayer games, meaning users will play with a lot of strangers. Some of these strangers might be looking to cause harm. Chat is disabled for players under 13 years of age with cabined accounts, but older children can be contacted. There are steps you can take to protect your child when they are playing Fortnite.

Adjust privacy settings

Fortnite parental controls allow you to disable text and voice chat for your child while playing. This reduces the chance of your child being exposed to mature language in the chat or having someone reach out to them. 

Even if you turn off chat within Fortnite, your child may still be able to use their video game console’s chat feature. However, you can hide your child’s username within the console’s message settings, so that no one can try to add them as a friend and message them.

Review friends list

Go through your child’s friends list together and remove anyone who your child does not know and trust in real life. This reduces the chance of strangers messaging your child.

Talk about their digital life

Having regular conversations about your child’s digital life, similar to how you talk about their offline life, can give you an insight into what they’re doing online. This may make your child more likely to tell you about any bad experiences they have had with strangers, or any new friends they have made online. 

Explore reporting and blocking tools

Showing your child how to use the reporting and blocking tools will empower them to utilise these features if someone is behaving inappropriately.

Excessive screen time 

Design features like daily challenges, streak rewards and limited-time events are all meant to increase screen time, and young people might struggle to manage their time spent on the game.

There are actions you and your child can take to manage their screen time.

Set screen time limits

In the parental controls settings on Fortnite, you can set screen time limits to prevent your child from spending too long on the game. A custom schedule can be created, with the ability to set different limits for each day of the week. 

Monitor screen time

You can opt in to receiving weekly screen time reports, which gives insights into how often your child plays. This can help you to balance your child’s screen time. 

Agree on clear boundaries

It can be useful to agree boundaries around when your child plays. Agreeing on rules such as not playing it in their bedroom can help protect how much screen time they’re having, their sleep and contact with strangers.

Overspending

It can be tempting for young people to spend real money on V-Bucks to buy accessories and emotes within the game. They often want to buy these items to keep up with friends and other players. 

Fortnite also has a subscription model which encourages players to spend money on the app.

There are ways you can manage your child’s spending.

Adjust parental controls

Epic Game’s parental control settings allow you to limit spending on Fortnite. You can edit the settings so that all purchases on the game require a parental PIN to be entered. By doing this, your child will only be able to make microtransactions with your permission.

Discuss spending

Having a conversation about spending can help your child understand the value of money. Compare the price of V-Bucks to the price of other things your child could buy to help them realise that money spent virtually is still real money. You could then talk about this cost in relation to their pocket money or allowance.

If you’re willing for your child to spend money on Fortnite, you may want to discuss doing this with tour child. You could give them a monthly spending limit for Fortnite. This gives them responsibility but limits their spending.

Settings to protect your child

If your child wants to play Fortnite, these settings can make their time on the game a safer experience. 

Set up parental controls

From Fortnite’s main menu:

• select the 3 horizontal lines in the top corner
• select the gear icon
• select Parental Controls and enter a 6-digit PIN

Parental controls include the following.

Manage chat

Players can use the text and voice chat channels to communicate with each other while playing. The parental control settings allow you to disable these chats or change who your child can talk to.

To do this, from Fortnite’s main menu:

• Select the 3 horizontal lines in the top corner.
• Select the gear icon and select Parental Controls.
• Next to the Text Chat and Voice Chat options, select who your child can communicate with you through voice chat:
  • Everybody: Your child can chat with anyone else on Fortnite
  • Friends & Teammates: Your child can chat with those they have added as friends and those they join a squad with
  • Friends Only: Your child can chat with those they have added as friends
  • Nobody: Your child cannot chat anyone

Limit screen time

Fortnite is designed to keep players logging in and entering games. This can lead to your child spending a lot of time on the game. 

To manage their screen time:

• From Fortnite’s main menu, select the gear icon and then Parental Controls
• Go to Time Limits and select open
• Move left and right on the top row to choose between:
  • No time limits
  • Same limit every day
  • Custom schedule with different limits each day

Review blocking and reporting features

Users can block or report other players that are behaving inappropriately or harmfully on the platform. This will stop them from making contact in future and can get their account banned so that they can’t harm others. Blocked players can still appear in the same public lobby, but they cannot contact the user that has blocked them.

Block a player

• Select Player Profile icon and select the Social button.
• Search for the username of the player you want to block and select them.
• Select More Options.
• Select Block, and select it again to confirm.

Report a player during a game

• Select the menu and then Reporting or Feedback.
• In the feedback tab, select Report Player and then select the reason and the player.
• Under the submit tab, select Accept and then Send Report.

Report a player from their profile

• Select the player’s profile.
• On their profile, select Report and the reason for the report.
• Under the submit tab, select Accept and then Send Report.

Useful links

• Internet Matters’ step-by-step parental controls guide.