Cabined Accounts are a type of Epic account that provide a tailored experience that is safe and inclusive for younger players. If a player indicates they are under 13 or their country’s age of digital consent, whichever is higher, their account will be a Cabined Account and they will be asked to provide a parent or guardian’s email address in order to receive consent to access certain features in Epic’s products. 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.
The following features are disabled in a Cabined Account:
- Communicating with other players using voice chat or free text chat
- Purchasing items with money
- Downloading games that are not owned by Epic
- Recommendations based on past activity
- Email marketing or push notifications
- Sign in with Epic, including linking accounts to certain external services, such as social media websites or video streaming applications
- Custom display names
- SMS-based two-factor authentication
While waiting for parental consent in a Cabined Account, younger players or developers using the Epic Games Store Launcher can view and access their library, but will not be able to get new games or access certain Unreal Engine features.
Players can access features that are unavailable in their Cabined Account by having their parent or guardian provide consent and complete the account setup, or when they reach age 13 (or the age of digital consent in their region). Players can resend the email requesting consent from a parent or guardian by going to the Epic Account portal and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are you asking for my age?
We ask for your date of birth to enable us to apply settings that ensure the best experience for all players. Depending on your age and the country where you live, some features or content may not be available to you until you are older or until you have permission from a parent or guardian.
Why are you asking for my parent’s email address?
You have either created an Epic account or requested access to a feature or content that requires permission from a parent or guardian. When you provide a parent’s email address, we’ll email them to let them know about the account, how to contact us, give them a way to grant additional permissions—such as voice or text chat, purchasing items for money, or accessing a game that is not owned by Epic—and to set up Parental Controls.
It says my account needs parental permission. What is that?
You have either created an Epic account or requested access to a feature or content that requires permission from a parent or guardian. Depending on your age and the country where you live, some features or content may not be available to you until you are older or until your parent completes your account setup and gives you permission.
We have asked you for a parent’s email address so that we can email them to let them know about the account, how to contact us, give them a way to grant additional permissions—such as voice or text chat, purchase items for money, or accessing a game that is not owned by Epic—and to set up Parental Controls.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
I have a Cabined Account. How do I get access to more features?
When you created your account or provided your age you were also asked for a parent or guardian’s email address. We have emailed them to let them know about your account and how to contact us, to give them a way to grant additional permissions—such as voice or text chat, purchase items for money, or accessing a game that is not owned by Epic—and to set up Parental Controls.
As soon as your parent or guardian completes the process of setting up your account and provides consent, you may gain access to any features that are currently disabled depending on the permissions set by your parent or guardian in Epic’s Parental Controls.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why has my display name been changed?
If you have recently created your account or provided your age, your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. Cabined Accounts are assigned an auto-generated display name. You can change it, by following the instructions here, once your parent or guardian completes the account setup process. If you previously had a different display name, it has been reserved for you and you can change it back by following the same instructions here.
You can remind your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account”.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why isn’t my voice chat working?
If you have recently created your account or provided your age, your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. Cabined Accounts can’t access certain features, including voice and free text chat, until they receive permission from a parent or guardian to do so.
You can enable voice chat by asking your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process, which they can do by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account” and granting permission to enable voice chat.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why can't I add money to my Epic wallet?
If you have recently created your account or provided your age, then your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. Cabined Accounts can’t access certain features, including purchasing items for money using Epic Payments, until they receive permission from a parent or guardian to do so.
If you have a balance in your Epic wallet you can still spend it on Fortnite, Rocket League, Fall Guys or other Epic-owned games.
To refill balances and make purchases, ask your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process, which they can do by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account”.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why isn’t the game I downloaded from EGS working?
If you have recently created your account or provided your age, then your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. As a result you may experience errors when trying to launch certain games from the Epic Games Store. You may experience an inability to launch the game, a failure when trying to log into the game, or some game functionality may be unavailable, such as the social overlay panel.
To access these games, ask your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process, which they can do by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account”.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why can’t I link my Facebook/Instagram/Twitch/etc account to my Epic account?
Depending on your age, some features may not be available until you are older. For example, you may not be able to link to services whose rules don’t allow users your age.
Why have my Epic account links to Facebook/Instagram/Twitch/etc disappeared?
If you have recently created your account or provided your age, then your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. Cabined Accounts can’t access certain features, including linking to apps or social media profiles, until they receive permission from a parent or guardian to do so. In addition, you may not be able to link to services whose rules don’t allow access to users your age whether your account is Cabined or not.
You can re-enable linking by asking your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process, which they can do by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account”.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why has my Fortnite Crew subscription been canceled?
If you have recently created your account or provided your age, then your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. Cabined Accounts can’t access certain features, including the ability to renew subscriptions using Epic Payments, until they receive permission from a parent or guardian to do so.
Your existing Fortnite Crew subscription remains valid until its renewal date, when it will be canceled.
You can renew your subscription by asking your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process, which they can do by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account”.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why isn’t my SMS-based two-factor authentication working?
If you have recently created your account or provided your age, then your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. Cabined Accounts can’t access certain features, including the ability to use SMS for two-factor authentication, until they receive permission from a parent or guardian to do so.
You can enable a different two-factor authentication method - such as email or using an authenticator app - by going to the Password & Security section in your account portal and choosing a method at the bottom of the screen.
You can re-enable SMS two-factor authentication by asking your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process, which they can do by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account”, and then updating your method in the account portal.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why can’t I purchase/download a game in the Epic Games Store?
If you have recently created your Epic account or provided your age, then your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. Cabined Accounts can’t purchase or download new games in the Epic Games Store until they receive permission from a parent or guardian to do so, but are still able to play games purchased or downloaded before.
You will be able to get new games by asking your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process, which they can do by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account”.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.
Why has the News/Forum/Marketplace tab disappeared in my Unreal Engine tab of the Epic Games Launcher?
If you have recently created your Epic account or provided your age, then your account may now be a Cabined Account due to your age and the region you’re in. Cabined Accounts can’t access certain features, including certain content in the Unreal Engine tab until they receive permission from a parent or guardian to do so.
You can enable full access to Unreal Engine content by asking your parent or guardian to complete the account setup process, which they can do by clicking on the link sent to them in an email titled “Your Child Created an Epic Games Account”.
You can also ask us to resend the parental consent email to your parent by going to the Epic Account portal in your account and following the instructions under Request Parental Permission.