In the US alone it is reportedly used by “millions” of students across more than 90,000 schools. Prodigy’s biggest markets are the US, Australia and Canada, where it is among the top 100 educational apps. “The avatars of kids without memberships literally walk in dirt while those of kids with memberships ride around on clouds,” CCFC says.
The advertising tactics are standard for free-to-play games: members of the “premium” membership have exclusive access to a plethora of cosmetic items, and those without are constantly reminded of that fact. “And when children play at home, they are met with a steady stream of advertisements promoting a ‘premium annual membership’ that costs up to $107.40.” “While it does cost nothing for schools to implement Prodigy, the in-school version encourages children to play at home,” CCFC says in its complaint.
