Many parents ask: Should my child play Fortnite on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, mobile or PC? What is the recommended age rating from FSK or USK? At what age is Fortnite recommended? Is Fortnite suitable for children?
Fortnite is a major topic in gaming currently in 2019 – even in many children’s rooms.
Parents are apparently asking themselves: Is there an age restriction for Fortnite, is it suitable for children due to its Minecraft-like graphic style?
After all, there is shooting involved, and in Fortnite: Battle Royale, 100 players shoot at each other until only one remains alive. Parents worry about youth protection and wonder what the relevant authorities say.
USK rates Fortnite with Save the World “From 12” – What about Battle Royale?
For video games, the age recommendation is not determined by FSK as with films, but by USK (Entertainment Software Self-Regulation).
The USK rates the Fortnite version available in physical retail, which is based on the game mode “Save the World“, on PS4, Xbox One and PC with an age rating of 12 years and older. So a green sticker. The game was tested on 05.05.2017. The Battle Royale mode was not part of this review.
Important for parents: There are fundamentally different game modes.
- In Save the World, players fight together against computer-controlled zombies, also building fortresses to protect themselves – the focus is on a cooperative experience. This mode is paid, but is expected to be offered for free at a later date.
- In Battle Royale, however, a player-versus-player experience is in the foreground. The goal is to shoot down other avatars, i.e., virtually controlled characters, to win as the last survivor. Fortnite: Battle Royale is free and can be downloaded without issues.
- The USK itself has also published an article highlighting the differences between Battle Royale and Save the World regarding age recommendation.
Age rating of USK for Battle Royale: Finally from 12
A separate age recommendation for the popular game mode “Fortnite: Battle Royale” was not provided for a long time. The USK stated that providers of pure online games can decide to submit their game to the USK for an age recommendation. However, they do not have to.
Fortnite: Battle Royale was not submitted for review at the time and therefore did not receive an age rating from the USK. However, Fortnite: Save the World, which is sold at retail under the name “Fortnite”, had to.
This has led to a new review: In June 2019, USK re-evaluated Fortnite and the Battle Royale version. This time both games received the rating “From 12”. This applies to PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The mobile versions for Android and iOS are also from 12.
What about the Switch? On the Switch, Fortnite was previously rated from 16 due to a special rule. This has now also been changed to “from 12”.
Why was it rated from 16 on the Switch? The USK has, in addition to the USK recommendation for retail, the “IARC” system for online games. This is an automated system. Here, Fortnite: Battle Royale would have actually received an age rating of 14, but in the USK system, it led to the next higher legally required label “from 16”.
Is Fortnite suitable for children? What age rating applies in other countries?
Other organizations have also dealt with Fortnite.
- The PEGI, responsible for Europe, gives an age recommendation “from 12 years”.
- The ESRB, responsible for the USA, assigns a “T for Teen”, which is a teenager rating.
However, both organizations refer to the “Save the World” version of Fortnite.
What discussions have been held regarding Fortnite’s age rating?
Saskia Moes from Spieleratgeber NRW gave the special mode Fortnite: Battle Royale a pedagogical recommendation “from 14 years”. While rounds in Fortnite: Battle Royale are decided through firearms violence, the setting is fairy-tale-like and clearly recognizable as fictional. There is neither blood nor corpses.
At the Spieleratgeber NRW, the problem with Fortnite: Battle Royale is seen rather in that the game is so nerve-wracking. However, it is assumed that older teenagers can classify the events as fictional play.
However, it is pointed out here that parents should be clear that children can verbally interact with strangers from all over the world, of any age.
Cases from the UK are already known, in which children were sexually harassed via Fortnite chat.
Enemies do not die, they crawl in Fortnite
Although there is shooting in Fortnite and many martial weapons and traps are used, the USK has likely reached the relatively low age rating because the portrayal of violence is relatively harmless.
In comparison to realistic shooters like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Fortnite is more of an arcade variant. Downed enemies merely crawl or are “brought back to the lobby by a blue light beam” when they should actually be dying.
An “elimination” does not cause any lasting damage. It is staged more as a sporting exit.
It’s a bit like in 80s action series, like the A-Team. Although there’s constant shooting with automatic rifles, no one ever really gets hurt in Fortnite.
How parents can deal with begging children and moderate tantrums, we have explained in detail here:
“Help, my child plays Fortnite!” – What parents should know about it.
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