Parents warned over popular video game Fortnite as makers urge kids to 'stop playing in class'

Developers of Fortnite have taken action to stop children getting distracted by the popular video game at school.

When logging on for a session on the Battle Royale mobile app, users will now come across a message that states: ‘Mr. Hillman says stop playing in class’.

According to the Daily Mail, Mr Hillman is a teacher who hit news aggregation and discussion site Reddit to vent his frustration about the way Fortnite is causing his pupils to lose focus on their studies.

'First, I love your game. My friends from college and I play pretty much every night,’ started the message which has since been deleted.

‘One problem, since mobile came out my students won’t stop playing in class. Idk [I don't Know] if it's possible, but I told them I'd write you and they didn't believe me.

The teacher continued by suggesting some light-hearted wording that Fortnite’s creators Epic Games might like to use to put a stop to the problem.

He added: ’Could you add this to the loading screen for a couple days to mess with them? “Mr. Hillman says stop playing in class.”’.

It seems it's not just Mr Hillman who has an issue with the game - many youngsters have taken to Twitter to reveal that Fortnite is causing issues at their school.

'There's actually people fighting over mobile Fortnite wins in my class... I'm done with school,' said one.

Another, clearly frustrated that they can no longer play during lessons, added: 'Why’d the school gotta block Fortnite mobile 😩.'

Fortnite - a free game that can also be played on a Playstation of Xbox - was released last year and is thought to have amassed 45 million players worldwide.

The Battle Royale version that's proving to be ever so popular with school kids sees 100 unarmed players competing to find weapons hidden on a fictional island.

The popularity of the game and the side effects it's having on children were discussed on This Morning, with one mum explaining how her child had changed since he started playing the game.

'I'm strict with time, two hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I never had to enforce that with Fifa, but with this I'd go up at 7.45am, and he'd be yelling he’s not ready', mum Suzanne said.

'I had to tell him you're not acting the way you normally act. The game is so full of energy and adrenaline that when you pull them off they are screaming at the television; they're hiding, they're calling each other, they are living in it with their friends.

'When they try and come out of it everything is boring, it can't compete.'

Psychologist Emma Kenny told viewers that despite its advantages, it's important parents create boundaries when it comes to gaming.

'You have to create some scenarios and create some boundaries and make kids aware they are only allowed a certain amount of time on the game', she said.

'It's all about creating opportunities to explore different activities.'