Fortnite fans say the game is opening the door to loot boxes by allowing creator-made modes to sell “paid random items” – although sales of these items are restricted in some countries and sellers are required to disclose odds

Fortnite developer Epic Games has detailed how it will soon allow third-party sellers to offer “paid random items” in the game's creator-made mode – which fans say opens the door to loot boxes.

Back in September, Epic Games announces it will start allowing third-party creators to sell in-game items in the near future. As of today, creators now have the necessary tools to achieve this, although the feature has yet to go live in the game. (To be clear, there's no indication that Epic Games will start offering random items for use in the game's main modes, such as its own-developed battle royale.)

an array blog post Can now elaborate rule Fortnite creators must follow When selling items in your own model – includes a set of legal restrictions that block random items in certain countries and for certain users under 18 years of age.

“In addition to your responsibility to comply with the law, you must abide by certain restrictions that apply when offering paid random items,” Epic Games wrote in a blog post titled “In-Island Trading Restrictions.” “Failure to use the features described below will constitute a violation of Epic policies.”

Singapore, Qatar, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium have completely banned the sale of random items – a list that includes some of the countries that have fought back against video game loot boxes in the past. In the UK (and Brazil, as of March 2026) paid random items are prohibited to players under 18 years of age.

Epic Games also stipulates that any transaction involving random items must disclose the odds of any item included.

Epic Games writes: “For example, if you offer a health potion pack with a random chance of receiving 5, 10, or 50 potions, you must disclose the odds of its potential reward before purchasing (e.g., 60% chance of receiving 5 potions, 30% chance of receiving 10 potions, 10% chance of receiving 50 potions).”

Direct purchase prompts (such as “Buy now!”) are not visible in more countries. This list includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada (under 13), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (under 17), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (under 16).

General restrictions on the sale of in-game items also exist, and they're fairly simple – there's a whole set of rules that prohibit copying or offering items that are confusingly similar to what Fortnite already does. Apparently, Epic Games has presupposed that some creators would do this to encourage or trick players into spending money.

Back in September, Epic Games named Fortnite's main competitor, Roblox, when explaining how creators could earn better in-game revenue on their platform. Fortnite creators will receive 37% of in-game sales, temporarily doubling to 74% in the 12 months ending on December 31, 2026. In comparison, Roblox offers 25% of in-game revenue to creators. But it remains to be seen how many Roblox developers will be attracted to Fortnite, and how creators will start selling in-game items — even within Epic's rules.

Tom Phillips is IGN's news editor. You can contact Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social