Cary, North Carolina - Epic Games, the developer and publisher of the popular video game Fortnite, was hit with hefty fines over privacy violations and unwanted charges.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Monday that Epic Games will have to dish out a total of $520 million to settle two major allegations brought against the company.

The first involved the company violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by gathering private information of children under the age of 13 without a parent's consent. The move will cost the company $275 million.

The second comes from allegations that Epic uses a practice called "dark patterns," which the FTC describes as "counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing" means to trick consumers into spending money, also garnering unwanted charges.

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Epic has been fined $245 million for the second settlement, which the FTC will use to refund consumers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Epic Games is worth over $32 billion, and Fortnight made over $3 billion in 2019 alone.

"Epic put children and teens at risk through its lax privacy practices, and cost consumers millions in illegal charges through its use of dark patterns," explained Samuel Levine, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

"Under the proposed orders announced today, the company will be required to change its default settings, return millions to consumers, and pay a record-breaking penalty for its privacy abuses," Levine said.

Epic Games released a statement in response to the settlement: "No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here."

"The video game industry is a place of fast-moving innovation, where player expectations are high and new ideas are paramount," the statement continued. "Statutes written decades ago don't specify how gaming ecosystems should operate. The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved, and long-standing industry practices are no longer enough."

"We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players."

According to the FTC, Epic Games' settlement is the largest for violating FTC rules and regulations.