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Three recent lawsuits have been filed in California against Epic Games and Roblox. These lawsuits claim that the companies knowingly design addictive games that incorporate gambling-like elements to enhance player engagement and spending.
All three lawsuits utilize over 80% of the same content from a lawsuit filed against gaming companies earlier in March.
The initial complaint targeted Microsoft, Epic, and Roblox, while the new lawsuits in California focus solely on the latter two companies.
These lawsuits have been initiated by the legal firm Parafinczuk Wolf, known for handling various complaints related to injuries from consumer products and medications. The March lawsuit was filed by Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine.
Copy, Paste, and Sue
The lawsuits all commence with the same statement, “Many modern video games are enjoyable and immersive experiences that allow individuals to delve into the gaming world. This legal action is not an attack on enjoyment, nor does it aim to restrict the creation and enjoyment of entertaining video games.”
They further argue, similar to the March lawsuit, that gaming companies promote harmful addictions through operant conditioning.
Operant conditioning, a learning process that alters behavior through rewards and punishments, is highlighted in the complaints as “exposing minor children to the same psychological techniques utilized by casinos without adequate warning”.
These complaints do not directly address the notion of games promoting underage gambling, unlike recent actions taken against Valve. Instead, they emphasize the deliberate creation of addictive games by the companies.
Games Target Helpless Young Men
The three new plaintiffs, Joshua Tucker, Dylan Kaiser, and Andrew Lawrence, aged 20 to 22 and residing in New York, Ohio, and Florida respectively, claim that they started playing video games between the ages of five and seven and continue to engage in gaming at an escalating, uncontrollable, compulsive, and/or addictive rate.
The March complaint was filed on behalf of an 18-year-old from Michigan who also plays games at an increasing, uncontrollable, compulsive, and/or addictive pace.
Do Lawsuits Stand A Chance?
In March of this year, legal firms achieved a significant judgment against social media companies using a similar argument.
Meta and Google were required to pay $6 million in damages to a girl who alleged that these companies intentionally developed addictive social media platforms.
While there has been no verdict where a plaintiff successfully obtained damages from a video game publisher based on addiction claims, several lawsuits involving games such as Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty have progressed beyond initial motions, though few have resulted in substantial plaintiff verdicts.
If any of these complaints succeed, it is likely that a new wave of imitative lawsuits targeting gaming companies will emerge.