Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney criticizes EU proposal on age limits for online services

• In a post on X, Sweeney called it "terrible for the next generation of humanity" and pointed to Fortnite Creative Mode and Roblox Studio as examples of accessible digital creation.
• The available information mentions age tiers of 15+, 13-14 with parent-approved introductory accounts, 3-12 with child accounts, and under 3 with no legal access, but does not confirm that this is final.

What happened

Tim Sweeney, CEO and co-founder of Epic Games, publicly responded on September 16, 2026 to a Reuters-reported EU document about age-based access to digital services. The reporting concerns a proposal that would affect not only games, but also social media, video platforms and AI chatbots.

In his post on X, Sweeney said this would be "terrible for the next generation of humanity." He argued that today’s apps and games play the role that "paintbrushes and tree forts" once did, and cited Fortnite Creative Mode and Roblox Studio as examples of tools that make digital creation accessible to everyone.

The details cited by Reuters describe a system in which users aged 15 and older could create accounts independently. Teenagers aged 13 and 14 would, under the plan, only be able to access services through parent-approved "introductory accounts" with restrictions, while children aged 3 to 12 would only be allowed to use parent-managed child accounts and children under 3 would have no legal access to online games and apps.

What is not yet clear from the available sources is whether the European Union has officially announced the proposal or whether it is still a draft. It is also not confirmed whether the final rules will exactly match the age thresholds and account types mentioned by Reuters.

Background

The debate centers on a possible European framework for age-based access to online services. In the provided sources, the proposal is linked to multiple types of platforms at once: games, social media, video services and AI chatbots.

Epic Games is especially relevant in this discussion because of Fortnite Creative Mode, while Roblox is mentioned in Sweeney’s response because of Roblox Studio. He uses both examples to argue that digital platforms enable not only consumption, but also creation.