Fortnite publisher sues organizers of a festival that angry parents call a ‘shambles’

A Fortnite Live festival in Norwich, England, last weekend turned out to be a “shambles” with only a handful of activities for the 2,800 attendees, The Guardian reports.

“The attractions were pretty rubbish,” said parent Oliver Phillips, according to the publication. “It was the sort of thing you see at a school fete.”

The wildly popular “Fortnite: Battle Royale” video game pits players against each other online as they fight to be the last person standing on a dystopian island, The Guardian reported.

Now Fortnite publisher Epic Games has sued Fortnite Live organizer Exciting Games over the unlicensed event, Variety reported.

“The quality of our player experience is incredibly important to us, whether it’s inside the game or at official public events like last year’s ‘Fortnite’ Pro-Am,” said an Epic Games spokesperson, Variety reported. “Epic Games was not in any way associated with the event that took place in Norwich and we’ve issued a claim against the organizers in the High Court of London.”

Angry parents said their children spent most of their time at Fortnite Live waiting in line for an inadequate and poorly staffed handful of activities that had little to do with the online game, The Guardian reported.

For example, only four children could practice archery at a time, and a rock-climbing tower had room for only three climbers, according to the publication. Families had to wait hours in line just to obtain prepaid wristbands for entry.

“They were really looking forward to it given they play online,” said mom Reenie Greenwood about her children, BBC News reported. “They’ve done nothing apart from queue. I’m really angry and gutted for my son.”

But organizer Shaun Lord of Exciting Events responded in a statement that “the vast majority of children loved Fornite Live Norwich,” EuroGamer reported.

Lord said in the statement that Exciting Events has canceled two upcoming Fortnite Live events as a result of the backlash. The company’s assets will go to pay debts, possibly including refunds promised to some parents at the event, EuroGamer reported.

This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Fortnite publisher sues organizers of a festival that angry parents call a ‘shambles’."