Use Fortnite cash in war on addiction

IF you haven’t played the computer game Fortnite, the idea is quite straightforward.

It’s an online tournament where 100 players compete against each other.

They collect weapons and do combat until there is only one of them left. A year after its launch, 125 million people have signed up to play Fortnite.

It is sweeping the nation’s schoolyards like wildfire and is popular with adults too.

Fortnite is big business, generating £94million a month.

It is on course to bring in £1.2billion in the first 12 months of its existence. As a success story it is fantastic. But there is another side to it. Last week we brought you the story of a nine-year-old girl who was forced into rehab after becoming addicted.

And today we reveal adults have also fallen under its spell.

There has always been a certain amount of controversy around video games. And Fortnite is no exception. The way to tackle this is to invest some of that £1.2billion into studying the effects of the game. Funding an independent study would reassure parents the game is 100 per cent safe for their children.

Maybe putting some of the profits aside to help people who are struggling with addiction would be a good move too.

No one wants to stamp out fun. A knee-jerk reaction to the game would achieve little.

But some people, young and old, are vulnerable to addiction.

And for the wealthy developers to reassure parents and help those in need would be the right thing to do.