Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite Designed to Cause Video Game Addiction, Lawsuit Alleges

Complaint comes as a panel of federal judges considers consolidating all similar video game addiction lawsuits before one judge for pretrial proceedings.

The makers of popular video games including Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite face a new lawsuit brought by a New Jersey mother, who says her child was ensnared by products specifically designed to increase profits and cause harmful addictions in children.

From algorithms built by monitoring minors’ usage to microtransactions in the form of “loot boxes” and cosmetics, developers designed these games to create video game addiction in children as young as possible, according to a complaint (PDF) filed by Shirley Baggaley, the parent and guardian of a minor only identified as C.W.B. 

Filed in the U.S District Court for the District of New Jersey on November 26, Baggaley’s lawsuit presents claims against Roblox Corporation, Epic Games, Microsoft Corporation, Mojang AB and others yet to be named as defendants.

Youth Video Game Addiction Concerns

With her complaint, Baggaley joins a growing number of other parents nationwide who allege that the rise in video game addiction in teens and children is the result of calculated tactics by major game manufacturers to maximize engagement, often at the expense of children’s mental health. The complaints allege that leading developers and publishers intentionally design games to foster addictive behaviors, particularly in multiplayer online “live service” platforms.

She and other parents specifically point toward three “gateway” games, including Epic Games’ Fortnite, Roblox Corporation’s Roblox, and Minecraft by Mojang, which is a third-party developer for Microsoft’s Xbox gaming platforms.

According to video game addiction lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide, these games illegally track children’s online activity and use the data to build algorithms that push targeted ads and in-game purchases.

The lawsuits describe practices such as promoting loot boxes with random rewards, forcing long play sessions to obtain rare item “drops,” and selling pay-to-win upgrades or cosmetic extras, all of which complaints allege are designed to exploit young players.

In addition to allegations that its design fosters video game addiction, Roblox has also been named in a growing number of sexual exploitation lawsuits over the past few months. These cases focus on claims that the platform failed to provide adequate safeguards to prevent child predators from engaging in sextortion, exchange explicit images and videos, and even arrange in-person assaults, causing severe psychological harm to children and teens.

Baggaley’s lawsuit indicates that C.W.B., now 15, began playing video games when he was just three-years old.

“Since that time, C.W.B. has used and/or continues to use video games at an increasing, uncontrollable, compulsive, and/or addictive pace. This addiction began with C.W.B.’s use of Defendants’ respective Products.”

– Shirley Baggaley v. Roblox Corporation et al

The complaint indicates these video games, all of which were allegedly designed to induce addiction in children, hit C.W.B. particularly hard due to his diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). As a result, Baggeley claims that C.W.B. suffered from social withdrawal, excessive cursing, poor academic performance and poor sleep. He has also been diagnosed with video game addiction, which requires additional services, diagnostic testing and an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in school.

Attempts to prevent access to the games result in C.W.B. becoming angry enough to try to injure himself and others, refusal to sleep and property damage, his mother states.

The lawsuit also targets Microsoft’s Xbox platform, alleging that the system lacks adequate parental controls and fails to warn families about the potential harms of excessive use. According to the complaint, Microsoft knows Xbox products can be especially harmful to minors and neurodivergent users, yet continues to exploit these vulnerabilities to increase profits. As a result, the lawsuit claims children are being put at risk of developmental issues, addiction and other serious injuries.

Baggaley presents claims of strict liability and negligent design defect and failure to warn, as well as negligence – design, negligence, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation and fraud. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages. 

Video Game Addiction Lawsuit Consolidation

The complaint came just days before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation held oral arguments to consider a motion to consolidate all “gateway” video game addiction lawsuits before one judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

Consolidating all federal video game lawsuits into an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, would assign all claims filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide before one judge to prevent duplicative discovery, contradictory rulings, and to serve the convenience of the parties, court and witnesses, according to a motion filed in late September.

If the panel agrees to the consolidation request, each plaintiff would still need to establish that their video game addiction was caused by the actions of specific defendants.

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