Bug in Fall Guys automatically ‘accidentally purchase’ skins
A bug in the Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout online shopping system may cause “accidental purchases” of premium content. All return requests submitted from June 21 will now be granted automatically while the developer is working on a fix.
Hundreds of players have reported strange happenings in the Fall Guys online store so far, according to a extensive Reddit post. While opening the preview of a skin, some users would have automatically purchased the relevant skin, without giving any input themselves. Users also report that Show Bucks, Fall Guys’ in-game currency, would disappear and that a ‘hidden’ key input could trigger a purchase.
There is no confirmation system in Fall Guys, so a player does not confirm a purchase. Nevertheless, Mediatonic employees did not believe customers at first, so describes PC Gamer. A user would have received the following response to a return request: “This is not a ‘known issue’ as this is not a problem. Items cannot be automatically purchased by the system, this always requires input from the player. Again, whether by Accident or not, you have provided an input to purchase an item. Based on our terms of use, which you have agreed to, all purchases are permanent and non-returnable.”
Mediatonic has itself apologized to Eurogamer for the response of the employee and apologizes in a tweet for the overall issues with the Fall Guys shop system. Until the issue is resolved, return requests are automatically accepted and processed. The online store is being improved, according to the company, to avoid further problems. All players will also receive a Legendary skin that changes color for free.
Fall Guys is a platform game with battle royale elements and has been free-to-play for roughly a month. The move to the ‘free’ player model seems to have been a very good choice, as evidenced by the significant amount of players the game attracted. The game is free for everyone to download and play, but Mediatonic, which falls under Epic Games, earns money by selling cosmetic items through microtransactions and battlepasses, a construction that earns publishers billions annually.
Image of the new skin via Mediatonic