London - The embattled creators of 'Fortnite' have hit out at Prince Harry after he claimed the video game was "created to addict".
The game has been caught in controversy following a raft of safety concerns about its addictiveness and use by online predators as a platform to target children.
But bosses from developer Epic Games told the digital, culture, media and sports committee that the prince’s views were a "mischaracterisation" of the game.
At a meeting on youth mental health in April, the Duke of Sussex had said: "'Fortnite' shouldn’t be allowed.
"It’s created to addict – an addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It’s so irresponsible."
Epic Games made around £1.8 billion last year from the game, which is free to play.
But when asked to respond to the claims, the developer’s lawyer Canon Pence said: "We were quite taken aback at Epic, really rather surprised. The statements... couldn’t be further from the truth in our intentions and design philosophy."
The committee is investigating immersive and addictive technologies such as battle games.