Epic Games launches "Cabined Accounts" to protect young players

Epic is introducing a new type of user account it claims will be "safe and inclusive" for younger players using the Epic Games Store or Epic Games Launcher.

The company says the new variant, dubbed Cabined Accounts, will help protect players while still granting access to titles like Fortnite, Fall Guys, and Rocket League.

"Players around the world will see a one-time request for their age when they log into Epic Games Store or our games. If you are a younger player, your Epic account will be a Cabined Account and you will be asked to provide a parent or guardian’s email address to begin the parental consent process," wrote Epic, explaining how Cabined Accounts will work.

"You will continue to be able to use the Epic Games Launcher, but will need Parental Controls to be set in order to access certain features. Once your parent sets up Parental Controls, your experience will respect the settings they select and your account will no longer be a Cabined Account."

In a more in-depth FAQ, Epic explained that a number of features will be disabled for Cabined Accounts, including voice chat or free text chat, in-game purchases, downloading games that aren't owned by Epic, email marketing, in-game trades, custom display names, and recommendations based on past activity.

After a Cabined Account has been created and verified by a user's parent or guardian, it'll be possible to use Epic's parental controls to unlock specific features and set permissions.

"While waiting for parental consent, players will still be able to play Fortnite, Rocket League, or Fall Guys with full access to previously purchased or earned content in-game, but won’t be able to access certain content or features until their parent or guardian provides consent," reiterated Epic.

Epic will begin rolling out Cabined Accounts starting today.