A Fortnite player's comments during voice chat allegedly went far beyond the usual trash talk.
A 29-year-old Alabama resident, Edward Lee Frith, was arrested after Epic Games reported a series of alleged threats he made while using Fortnite.
According to a federal affidavit, Epic Games made a voluntary emergency disclosure to the FBI on September 20 concerning a Fortnite account named "WagesOfNinja." Investigators subsequently used information provided by Epic to identify the account holder as Frith.
Among the statements allegedly attributed to Frith were multiple threats directed toward FBI agents, in which he talked about wanting to murder someone, potentially killing an FBI officer if he were arrested, and killing himself. The 29-year-old seemingly acknowledged his incriminating desires, stating, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that if I did get arrested for something like that."
FBI Investigated the Voice Chat Recordings
Epic reportedly provided account information as well as recordings and transcripts of the alleged statements. Investigators also found that the account had been accessed more than 1,700 times from IP addresses geolocating to Alabama.
An FBI agent reviewed the audio recordings supplied by Epic Games and stated that the comments quoted in the affidavit accurately reflected what was heard in the recordings.
Frith was indicted on September 23, just three days after Epic reportedly contacted federal investigators. He was subsequently charged with "Threatening Interstate Communications" under federal law.
According to reports, Frith pleaded not guilty the following day. A September 29 detention order reportedly placed him in custody pending trial, which was expected to take place in December.
How Fortnite's Voice Reporting System Works
The case also sheds some light on Fortnite's voice-reporting system. Epic introduced voice reporting in November 2023 as a way for players to submit audio evidence when reporting inappropriate behavior.
When the feature is enabled, the most recent five minutes of voice chat are captured on a rolling basis on the player's device. Older audio is automatically deleted as new audio is recorded.
Epic says the company cannot access those recordings unless voice reporting is enabled and a participant submits a report. When a report is submitted, the relevant audio is uploaded to Epic for moderator review.
The system is primarily designed to address harassment, bullying, and other violations of Fortnite's Community Rules, but the alleged threats in this case were serious enough for Epic to disclose them to federal authorities.