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Epic Is Introducing A New Account Type For Younger Players

A new approach to player safety.

Epic has announced Cabined Accounts, a new strain of Epic account that aims to provided a safe and inclusive environment tailored especially to young players.

In a post announcing the move, Epic explains that it wanted to avoid the “restrictive and unappealing” systems that age-gated gaming accounts typically provide that could encourage young players to falsely report their age in order to get the full experience.

Cabined Accounts, Epic claims, provide a rich experience for players under 13 within the same overall game or product that older players have access to. What this means is that players will be asked to provide their age upon logging into Epic for the first time and, if indicating that they are under 13, will be provided a Cabined Account. Within this account they’ll be able to play games like Fortnite, Rocket League and Fall Guys with full access to any previously purchased or earned in-game content, but certain features like chat and in-game purchases will be disabled unless a parent/guardian opts to re-enable them using the account’s Parental Controls.

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These are the features that will initially be disabled on a Cabined Account, until permissions are granted by a player’s parent or guardian:

  • 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

As described by Epic, Cabined Accounts essentially sound like a safe onboarding process for young players, giving them immediate access to a slightly restricted environment for age-appropriate games and then allowing parents or guardians to gradually tailor the experience by consenting to additional permissions.

You can read more about Epic’s Cabined Accounts here.