Epic Games is making it safer for kids to play certain games online thanks to a new “Cabined Account” system available the platform. The system allows kids to create an account which can then be used across Fortnite, Rocket League and Fall Guys. These “for-kids” accounts will then have certain restrictions in place until parents approve some features. The parents also don’t have to approve certain parts of the account if they don’t want to.
Epic Games says that anyone who creates an account under the age of 13 years old will automatically be given a Cabined Account. These accounts will allow kids to play games that fall under certain age groups such as Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League but certain features will be disabled until approved by the parent. These features include text chat, voice chat, buying items and in-game currency and even downloading other games that don’t belong to Epic Games.
Epic Games detailed the full list of disabled features below:
- Communicating with other players using voice chat or free text chat
- Purchasing items with money
- Downloading games that are not owned by Epic
- Recommendations based on past activity
- Email marketing or push notifications
- Trades in Rocket League
- Sign in with Epic, including linking accounts to certain external services, such as social media websites or video streaming applications
- Custom display names
- SMS-based two-factor authentication
In order to access these features, kids will then need their parents’ consent. At the same time, the parent can then also set up certain parental controls on the account to tailor it for the child. Epic is also moving all current accounts under the age of 13 to these new Cabined Accounts. This means kids will now be locked out of certain features of the games they play.
The aim of these Cabined Accounts is to offer kids the opportunity to download and play certain games without direct parental consent. The feature won’t prevent kids from playing games without permission but it will safeguard them from interacting with the dangers of the internet while doing so. In a way, Epic Games is also encouraging kids and parents to have a clear line of communication when it comes to what they are playing online.
Parents can read up on this new Cabined Accounts feature on the Epic Game site here.
