A parent's guide to Fortnite, including voice chat, in-game spending, and Epic Games' parental control settings.
Fortnite is a hugely popular free online battle-royale game where up to 100 players fight to be last standing, with voice chat and social events.
Official age
12+
We recommend
12+
Developer
Epic Games
Risks
4
Fortnite is a hugely popular online battle royale game where up to 100 players compete to be the last one standing. It features colourful, cartoon-style graphics and regular content updates that keep players engaged. The game is free to play but has an extensive in-game store selling cosmetic items for V-Bucks, its virtual currency.
Children play solo, with friends, or in squads with strangers in fast-paced battle royale matches. Voice chat is used extensively to coordinate with teammates. Many children are drawn to collecting skins and cosmetic items, which drives in-game spending. The game's social aspect is a major part of its appeal.
Voice Chat
Location: Epic Games Parental Controls → Voice Chat
Set to: Friends Only (or Off for younger children)
Prevents your child from hearing or speaking with strangers during matches. Friends-only mode limits voice chat to their friend list.
Text Chat
Location: Epic Games Parental Controls → Text Chat
Set to: Friends Only
Limits in-game text communication to approved friends, preventing strangers from messaging your child during play.
Purchase Controls
Location: Epic Games Parental Controls → Require PIN for Purchases
Set to: PIN required for all purchases
Requires a four-digit PIN before any V-Bucks purchase can be made, giving you control over all in-game spending.
Weekly Playtime Reports
Location: Epic Games Parental Controls → Playtime Reports
Set to: Enabled
Sends you a weekly email summary of how much time your child has spent playing, helping you monitor screen time.
Set up Epic Games parental controls with a PIN, restricting voice chat and requiring approval for purchases
Time: 10 minutes
Remove saved payment methods from both the Epic Games account and the console's store
Time: 5 minutes
Agree clear boundaries about play time, especially on school nights, and use playtime reports to monitor usage
Time: 10 minutes
In immediate danger: call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101.
Concerned about a child but it's not an emergency? NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000. Childline for young people 0800 1111.
Myth: Fortnite is cartoonish, so it’s fine for young children.
Fact: The bigger issues than the stylised combat are open voice chat with strangers and relentless pressure to spend on V-Bucks and battle passes. Restrict voice chat to friends and lock down spending.
Myth: The spending is optional and small.
Fact: Fortnite’s store is designed to encourage frequent purchases and costs add up. Require approval for every purchase and remove saved payment methods.
Myth: A Fortnite account is just a game login — there's nothing worth stealing.
Fact: Accounts holding rare skins and V-Bucks are genuine targets: children are phished with 'free V-Bucks' sites, fake giveaways and account 'trades' that end in losing everything they've built up. Two-factor authentication on the Epic account, plus the blunt rule that free V-Bucks offers are always scams, prevents most of it.
Fortnite is rated PEGI 12, so it isn't recommended at this age. If it's already part of their world through older siblings or cousins, keep any play in shared spaces with voice chat off, and be honest that their own account waits until they're older.
Around the PEGI age, set the Epic account up together: voice and text chat limited to friends, a PIN on purchases, and Epic's parental controls linked to your email. The spending conversation matters as much as the safety one — agree what, if anything, gets bought each season.
Voice chat culture is the thing to watch — squads with strangers can mean abuse or grooming-style flattery, so encourage friends-only channels and make muting, blocking and reporting feel like normal moves. Keep purchase approvals on and watch battle-pass pressure on school nights.
Spending is their own decision now, so the conversation shifts to habits: chasing every season, buying under hype from streamers, and late nights that squeeze sleep. Account security — and never buying or selling accounts, which breaks Epic's rules and usually ends in a scam — rounds it off.
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