Three new lawsuits have been filed in California against Epic Games and Roblox. The near-identical filings allege that the companies knowingly create addictive games that feature gambling-like mechanisms to increase player usage and spending.
The three lawsuits use over 80% of the same text from a lawsuit brought against gaming companies in March.
That complaint targeted Microsoft as well as Epic and Roblox. The new lawsuits in California only name the latter two.
They have all been filed by legal firm Parafinczuk Wolf, which handles a wide variety of complaints alleging injuries from consumer products and medicines. The March lawsuit was filed by Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine.
Copy, Paste, and Sue
The lawsuits all start with the same text, “Many modern video games are fun and engaging adventures that allow individuals to immerse themselves in the world of games. This litigation is not a war on fun. Nor does it seek to curtail the creation and enjoyment of entertaining video games.”
They go on to repeat the argument of the March lawsuit, that the gaming companies encourage harmful addictions through operant conditioning.
Operant conditioning is a learning process that modifies behavior through rewards and punishments. The complaints say this is “exposing minor children to the same psychological techniques used by casinos without adequate warning”.
These complaints do not focus explicitly on the idea that the games are encouraging underage gambling, like actions brought recently against Valve. Instead, they center on the claim that the companies are purposefully creating addictive games.
Games Target Helpless Young Men
The three new plaintiffs are Joshua Tucker, Dylan Kaiser, and Andrew Lawrence. They are all aged 20 to 22 and reside in three different states: New York, Ohio, and Florida.
The complaints say they began playing video games between the ages of five and seven and continue to play games “at an increasing, uncontrollable, compulsive, and/or addictive pace”.
The March complaint was brought on behalf of an 18-year-old in Michigan who also plays games “at an increasing, uncontrollable, compulsive, and/or addictive pace”.
Do Lawsuits Stand A Chance?
In March this year, legal firms won a landmark judgment against social media companies using a similar argument.
Meta and Google had to pay $6 million in damages to a girl who claimed the companies intentionally built addictive social media platforms.
There has been no verdict in which a plaintiff successfully recovered damages from a video-game publisher based on addiction allegations.
Many lawsuits involving games such as Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty have survived early motions, but few have reached substantial plaintiff verdicts.
If any complaint is successful, expect a new wave of copycat lawsuits targeting gaming companies.
