Fortnite is doing what every other game with premium currencies should do: it will allow players to purchase the exact amount they want. This might seem like a non-issue for some, but it’s a scummy tactic designed to squeeze every extra bit of money from consumers who have no choice but to pay extra when they have no intention of using that amount of currency.
On September 11, the Fortnite X (formerly known as Twitter) account announced that, starting on October 14, the game will feature an “Exact Amount” that will allow users to pay for the exact amount of V-Bucks they require for a specific purchase, whether that’s a skin, an emote, a bundle, or a battle pass of some kind.
For context, the in-game Fortnite store only allows players to purchase V-Bucks in bundles (going from 1,000 all the way up to 13,500 V-Bucks). Oftentimes, you’ll run into a situation where you want to spend only like 800 V-Bucks for an emote and find yourself having to spend a little extra. It gets more egregious when you want to buy a 1,500 V-Bucks skin, as the next best bundle would be to purchase the 2,800 one or purchase the 1,000 V-Bucks twice.
With the new model, the old V-Bucks bundle will remain available; however, a new option will appear when you’re trying to purchase a specific item, letting you pay the exact amount required for it.
The sad thing is that this isn’t exclusive to Epic Games and Fortnite. In fact, many games (whether free-to-play or actual paid experiences) do it. Off the top of my head, I can name titles like Overwatch 2: want a skin bundle? Time to fork out for Overwatch Coins that are sold in arbitrary bundles, forcing you to overpay. Want a new character or outfit in Street Fighter 6, a full-price fighting game? Time to pull out the wallet to get Fighter Coins. Silver in Destiny 2? You guessed it, only sold in bundles.
I’m sure those are not the only games that do it, but with a juggernaut like Fortnite finally deciding to end such a terrible business practice, my hope is that more developers follow suit. Another neat thing about this decision is that the V-Bucks in your account will be rounded out to the nearest 100. So, if you have 260, you’ll get a bump to 300 V-Bucks.
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