Since December 2018, the Epic Games Store has maintained an aggressive weekly campaign of free game giveaways. That campaign changes this week, though not with any plans to stop offering freebies.
Instead, Epic has updated the promotion with its first security-minded rule: if you want to claim EGS giveaways going forward, you'll have to turn on two-factor authentication (2FA).
The news appeared on Tuesday at both the EGS official site and as an automatic alert for EGS users on Windows and Mac. It explained that EGS will 'periodically' confirm account credentials with a 2FA notice when a user attempts to claim free games between now and May 21. The company's only explanation for the change came as follows: 'We understand that this is a minor inconvenience for some, but we want to provide the best possible solutions to protect your Epic account.'
We reached out to Epic Games asking if it had launched this campaign due to its own security breach or if the campaign came as a response to other recent gaming-service breaches, particularly last week's leak of '160,000' Nintendo accounts. In an email to Ars Technica, Epic Senior PR and Communications Manager Nick Chester replied to both questions with a flat 'no.' Chester did not immediately clarify why Epic is only implementing this restriction until May 21.
Sign in with Epic Games. Sign in with Facebook. Sign in with Google. Sign in with Xbox Live. Sign in with PlayStation Network. Sign in with Nintendo. Sign in with Steam. Sign in with Apple. Fortnite save the world account for sale. Don't have an Epic Games. Epic Games is here with an epic free gift when you turn on Fortnite 2FA to secure your Fortnite account. When you turn on this awesome security feature you get a free Heartspan Glider system.
AdvertisementLast week, Nintendo urged all of its users to activate 2FA on their Nintendo accounts, which proved to be an effective block against an exploit that apparently targeted the dated Nintendo Network (NNID) account system. Nintendo has since removed the ability to link NNID accounts to modern Nintendo accounts.
Before EGS launched in earnest, Epic Games had already dangled a carrot to encourage its users to adopt 2FA. That came in the form of a free 'emote' dance move for its popular online shooter Fortnite, which could be claimed starting in August 2018 by following the same steps encouraged in today's EGS news.Epic Games Nintendo Switch 2fa
Fortnite uses the same Epic account system as EGS, which originally only supported email as a 2FA protocol; that has since expanded to supporting TOTP apps like Duo, LastPass, and Authy (which we suggest) and SMS (which we do
Fortnite Enable 2fa Epic Games
not).Fortnite developer Epic Games implemented a security feature for game accounts called two-factor authentication (2FA) to help gamers keep their accounts secure.
2FA protects Fortnite player accounts with a second security layer. It also gives them the free Boogiedown emote in Fortnite: Battle Royale and lets them use the gifting system.
What is 2FA?
As explained by Epic in its blog, 2FA 'can be used to help protect your account from unauthorized access by requiring you to enter an additional code when you sign in.' Epic's system allows players to receive this additional code on their phone or email.
Fortnite Enable 2fa Epic Games
not).Fortnite developer Epic Games implemented a security feature for game accounts called two-factor authentication (2FA) to help gamers keep their accounts secure.
2FA protects Fortnite player accounts with a second security layer. It also gives them the free Boogiedown emote in Fortnite: Battle Royale and lets them use the gifting system.
What is 2FA?
As explained by Epic in its blog, 2FA 'can be used to help protect your account from unauthorized access by requiring you to enter an additional code when you sign in.' Epic's system allows players to receive this additional code on their phone or email.
Players who enable 2FA will have to type the additional code when they first log into their Epic account after enabling the feature, when they use a new device to log in, when it's been 30 days since their last login, or if they cleared cache and cookies history from their device. That way, Epic will understand the player authorized people on that device to log into their Fortnite account.
How to enable 2FA
The first step is to go to Epic's website and the 2FA page. Players will see 'Get Started Here' after scrolling down a bit. Click that and you'll be prompted to log into the Epic account you want to protect with 2FA. If you're a Fortnite player on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch, remember to click your console icon to log in with your system credentials.
You'll be redirected to the password area of your account settings. The options Authenticator App and Email Authentication will be available.
Authenticator App
If you choose to enable the Authenticator App, a new window will pop up with the steps to enable it. You'll have to click a link to download the app, scan the QR code shown on the left, and sign in with the code that appears right after. From now on, that app is enabled to authenticate future devices you might use to log into your account.
Google Authenticator, LastPass Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and Authy will all work perfectly fine with this method of authentication.
Email Authentication
If you choose email authentication, there are fewer steps. You just have to type in the security code sent to the email linked to your Epic account to activate 2FA via email. That's where you'll also find future codes to allow other devices to access your account.
Epic Games 2fa Login
After 2FA is activated, you'll see Boogiedown on your account and all the gifting features will be enabled in Fortnite: Battle Royale.
