Prince Harry isn’t a dad yet—he and Meghan Markle are expecting their first child this spring—but it already appears like he might limit how much time his future children spend playing video games.
The Duke of Sussex isn’t keen on the hugely famous online game Fortnite. The British royal went so far as to call for a ban at an event at a West London YMCA on Thursday.
“That game shouldn’t be allowed. Where is the benefit of getting it for your household?” Prince Harry told newshounds about the event, which was consistent with the BBC. Prince Harry added that Fortnite is too addictive, particularly for younger gamers.
“It’s created to the addict, an addiction to hold you in the front of a pc for as long as possible,” the prince said Thursday. “It’s so irresponsible.”
The unfastened-to-play Fortnite, made by video game agency Epic Games, is a multi-player, “conflict royale” survival sport that simultaneously pits 100 gamers against each other. The gamers search for weapons and tools to construct systems while killing in every different way to be the last individual status.
The recreation launched in 2017 and quickly became one of the world’s most famous video games, with more tha million registered players around the arena as of the ultimate month. The recreation has had 10.8 million humans playing at any given time, Epic Games stated in March. And, even as different video games (along with Electronic Arts’ “Apex Legends”) have lately seen a surge in popularity to challenge Fortnite, the latter remains doubtlessly worth as much as $12 billion as a franchise for Epic Games, in line with one estimate.
But, the massive recognition of Fortnite has also come with worries that the game is addictive, with such proceedings coming from everyone from parents to spouses and employers. Even the World Health Organization weighed in on the problem of addictive video games in the final summer season, with WHO formally recognizing “gaming ailment” as an intellectual fitness condition afflicting gamers who can lack control over their gambling behavior for periods of months at a time.
In October, Prince Harry expressed his Fortnite issues when he reportedly told a group of eight-year-old UK students that they “shouldn’t certainly play Fortnite” at their age.
In the past, the Duke of Sussex has talked overtly about playing video games. He even drew a few grievances 2013 for seemingly comparing his role in the military, as co-pilot of an Apache helicopter, to using a video-game controller.
“It’s a joy for me because I’m one of these people who loves gambling PlayStation and Xbox, so with my thumbs, I think I’m probably pretty beneficial,” he advised The Telegraph about operating a helicopter’s guns in 2013.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry also has concerns about social media’s addictive ability, which the Duke of Sussex said on Thursday is “more addictive than alcohol and capsules.”
Despite the remark, Prince Harry and Markle recently released their own professional Instagram page for the House of Sussex on Tuesday.
A consultant for Epic Games did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
