Prince Harry warns kids of Fortnite, tells them to choose other games

Prince Harry isn’t a fan of Fortnite and thinks children shouldn’t be playing it. The Duke of Sussex, who is currently in his title’s namesake county with wife Meghan Markle, has reportedly asked young students to choose other online video games to play.

During a visit to Sussex on Wednesday, Harry and Meghan met a group of 8-year-old students who asked him if he played Fortnite, the popular online survival game that has drawn in over 100 million players in less than a year. But the British prince was reportedly concerned that children that young were playing it.

“He asked how old we are. We said that we were 8 and he said, ‘You guys shouldn’t really play Fortnite,’” one of the students was quoted by People as saying.

Harry even allegedly exclaimed, “What is wrong with parents?” after the students told him they were allowed to play the online game. He crouched down to the students and suggested to them that they find other games to play instead.

“He was saying that it’s a concern of his, children playing the game before they were allowed to,” teacher Emma Johnston said. “We were saying that as a school it’s a concern for us too.”

Fortnite has been rated PEGI 12 in the UK, which means the Pan European Game Information rating system categorised it as suitable for players aged 12 years and older.

The game’s spin-off, Fortnite Battle Royale, has attracted more than 125 million players since it had its early release last year. While the survival online games were meant to be played by older players, or at least 12 years old and above, children also get their hands on them. There have been reported cases that the titles had caused online game addictions among children. There were said to be instances when children had skipped school to play the game or played it late at night.

The Duke and Duchess will be arriving in Australia next in less than two weeks. They will also visit New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji.