Epic Games has been caught up in another lawsuit with a Californian man who claims its hit battle royale game Fornite uses predatory loot boxes.

Steve Altes has filed the claim on behalf of his son as he believes the loot llamas that feature in Fortnite’s Save the World mode exploit children. He states in the claim that the system “is like playing a slot machine”.

The odds of obtaining a rare item through a llama were not disclosed in-game until January 2019 when Epic implemented the update. However, the lawsuit does not reflect this latest information.

The lawsuit by Altes' representation specifically claims Epic has violated the consumer legal remedies act, unjust enrichment, violation of California's false advertising law and violation of the state's unfair competition law.

Preying on minors

“Epic has made a fortune on in-game purchases, preying in large part on minors who are especially susceptible to such predatory tactics,” reads the lawsuit

“However, many of these in-game purchases are marketed through material misrepresentations and omissions which lure minors and other players into making repeated purchases, without receiving the promised loot.”

Recently Epic has been involved in a number of lawsuits, including former Maryland basketball players Jared Nickens and Jaylen Brantley who were suing the firm for its use of the ‘'Running Man' dance.

Before this Fresh Prince of Bel Air star Alfonso Ribeiro unsuccessfully tried to sue Epic for its use of the ‘Carlton’ dance, however the actor was denied ownership by the US Copyright Office.