Epic Games is suing the organizers behind a U.K. “Fortnite” festival that happened over the weekend, according to Epic Games.
Fortnite Live Norwich was billed as the “Fortnite” event of the year. The two-day festival advertised outdoor laser tag, a climbing wall, archery, and more. Tickets started at £12, with wristbands for unlimited access going for an extra £20.
It was a “shambles,” festivalgoers told The Guardian. Outside of the “Fortnite” name and logo, it had little to do with the massively popular battle royale game. It was underwhelming and understaffed, people said, with visitors queuing up for hours just to enter and collect their wristbands. There also weren’t enough activities for the estimated 2,800 who showed up. Only four children could practice archery at the same time, and there was only one climbing wall on the grounds.
@EDP24 fortnite live event. 1 climbing wall between 3000+ children. 4 go karts between the same amount, nobody dressed up as characters, people still queuing 2hrs after gates open. Absolutely awful #fortnite #fortnitelive pic.twitter.com/D8laYvzbpG
— #OfficalMarcSmith (@marc0835) February 16, 2019
Hundreds of guests are now reportedly demanding refunds. Many voiced their displeasure on the event’s Facebook page, which is now gone.
“’Fortnite’ is all about hunting people down and killing them. I felt like doing that to the people who organized it,” one person told The Guardian. “There would have been hell to pay if they had not agreed to pay refunds to people who bought wristbands.”
Now, Epic Games is pursuing legal action against the festival’s organizer, Exciting Events, as first reported by Eurogamer. “The quality of our player experience is incredibly important to us, whether it’s inside the game or at official public events like last year’s ‘Fortnite’ Pro-Am,” a spokesperson told Variety. “Epic Games was not in any way associated with the event that took place in Norwich and we’ve issued a claim against the organizers in the High Court of London.”
