„Operating costs sharply rising": Epic makes in-game currency more expensive
V-Bucks in „Fortnite“ are becoming more expensive: Epic is adjusting the costs of the in-game currency to counteract „increased operating costs“.
(Image: Epic Games)
The free-to-play game „Fortnite“ is getting more expensive: Epic is increasing the cost of the in-game currency V-Bucks, which is used for microtransactions. With V-Bucks, for example, you can buy Battle Passes, which contain various rewards. Users also buy character costumes and weapons with V-Bucks. Such in-game currencies are used to obscure the actual costs of items.
In a blog post, Epic Games now announces a price increase for the purchase of V-Bucks: For 9 Euros, you will get 800 V-Bucks instead of 1000 V-Bucks in the future. The package for 23 Euros offers 2400 instead of 2800 V-Bucks, the package for 37 Euros offers 4500 instead of 5000 V-Bucks. In the largest bundle for 90 Euros, you get 12.500 instead of 13.500 V-Bucks. All changes will be effective from March 19.
More precise purchase of V-Bucks becomes more expensive
In „Fortnite“, there is also the option to buy exact amounts of V-Bucks. Here, the price for 50 V-Bucks increases from 50 cents to 1 Euro. The precise purchase of V-Bucks thus becomes significantly less attractive compared to the package prices. This is unlikely to be an oversight: part of the in-game currency business is also to sell users odd amounts. Then, after the desired purchase, there is often something left over, and the user feels compelled to buy again so as not to leave the remaining currency unused. If you can buy exactly as much currency as you need, this mechanism is omitted. Epic is apparently compensating for this with a particularly unattractive price-performance ratio.
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Epic justifies the price increases for V-Bucks with increased operating costs for „Fortnite“. „We have to increase prices to cover rising costs,“ Epic writes in the blog post. At the same time, Epic is also adjusting the costs for various Battle Passes: The normal Battle Pass will cost 800 V-Bucks and grant 800 V-Bucks for its completion. Previously, it cost 1.000 V-Bucks and granted 1.000 V-Bucks plus 500 V-Bucks in bonus rewards.
(dahe)
