Epic Games Will Block You If You Buy Too Many Games In Mega Sale

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Epic Games is currently holding the Epic Mega Sale to attract gamers to its store, which debuted in December. Even though it is a sale, there seems to be a limit on the number of titles each user can buy. It seems the Epic Games Store is blocking users if they buy too many games in the sale.

Why is the Epic Games Store blocking users?

The Epic Mega Sale is the first major sale by the Epic Games Store, and the available titles include several exclusives. Moreover, many of the titles on sale are selling at 75% off the original price. The store is offering $10 off on titles priced at $15 and above.

With such an attractive deal, it is only natural for users to buy as many games as they can. However, they are unable to do so because Epic is reportedly blocking players from buying too many titles.

One Twitch streamer whose account was blocked after he tried to buy too many titles was among the first to flag the issue. The Twitch streamer said he was planning to buy several games ranging from $5 to $50, but he was blocked and his account was flagged as “possibly fraudulent.”

Further, the streamer said his account may have been flagged because he bought each title one at a time because the store doesn’t have a cart. After he purchased a few titles, the Epic Games Store blocked his account and displayed this message: “Sorry, your account is blocked from making purchases. Please contact customer service.”

In a statement to Game Revolution, Epic Games said instances of the Epic Games Store blocking users are the result of its “aggressive fraud rules.” Further, the company recommends that every user whose account is blocked for the same reason contact the support team so the issue can be investigated.

Who is to blame?

As can be expected, gamers around the world don’t appreciate being blocked. Many have been quick to make their point and poke fun at Epic Games. They blamed Epic for putting too many titles on sale at the same time with big discounts.

Users also pointed out an important store feature that was missing: the shopping cart. Like the Twitch streamer, several users noted that a shopping cart could have made bulk purchases a lot easier and smoother. A shopping cart could also have kept the Epic Games Store from blocking users. It seems the store’s fraud detection systems are tracking individual purchases, and thus, they are flagging accounts as suspicious if they make too many transactions.

Overall, the instances of the Epic Games Store blocking users appear to be the fault of Epic. If you are organizing a sale, it is totally unfair to keep users from making purchases. Such restrictions and the lack of a shopping cart may actually mar the very purpose of the Epic Mega Sale.

Users may be lured initially, but the unpleasant shopping experience may cause them to quit. Epic Games will have to sort out these issues fast if it plans to take on a brand as big as Steam.

Another controversy in the Epic Mega Sale

The Epic Games Store blocking users is not the only controversy surrounding the Epic Mega Sale, which went live last week. Shortly after the sale went live, Bloodlines 2 was removed from the sale. To explain why this happened, Epic told Kotaku that Bloodlines 2 publisher Paradox decided to pull the game from the sale at the very last minute.  

“Paradox Interactive has chosen to not participate in the Epic Mega Sale and the game has been temporarily removed from sale,” Epic told Kotaku in an email.

Another title that was pulled from the store was space station survival game Oxygen Not Included. Neither of these games are Epic Store exclusives. However, one high-profile Epic Games Store exclusive, Borderlands 3, was also removed from the sale. This game is an Epic Games Store exclusive on PCs for the first six months.

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