Epic Games to offer two-step verification via SMS

Epic Games, maker of games such as Fortnite and Unreal Tournament, will offer two-step verification via SMS. The gaming service already offers such 2FA for accounts via external applications and email. Epic will also be using email authentication when signing up.

The company says it wants to better secure user accounts and gives users tips on how to add an extra step to do that themselves. Users can already do that via email and applications such as Authy or Google Authenticator. SMS will be added in the future.

Experts see SMS as a less secure form of two-step verification because it is prone to SIM hijacking. On the other hand, it is an accessible way to better secure accounts. Fortnite players who set up two-factor authentication in their account will also receive the Boogie Down dance as a gift.

Epic will also increase the security of new accounts by setting up email verification during the sign-up process. New passwords are also automatically checked against public lists of commonly used passwords, specifically those from Have I Been Pwned.

Epic has been criticized for the security of accounts in the past. Users often complain on forums and social media that someone is trying to hack into their accounts, and it was revealed earlier this year that deactivated email addresses were being added to botnets on a large scale.