Epic Games has announced a major change to the prices and distribution of Fortnite’s in-game V-Bucks currency, and blamed the cost increases on the need to “help pay the bills.”
Fortnite’s billion dollar-grossing battle royale mode launched back in 2017, and has frequently found itself as part of the cultural zeitgeist. But while recent years have seen ever-bigger collaborations with movies and pop stars, its player numbers have been dwarfed by third-party game platform Roblox.
Earlier this year, Fortnite began allowing its own third-party game creators to begin selling microtransaction items (while Epic Games took a cut), a move that Epic itself previously said it wouldn’t entertain. The wider company has also been busy spending big on free games to attract users to its PC storefront, battling Apple and Google in the courtroom, and building an in-game mode backed by a $1.5 billion investment by Disney.
All of that said, however, you’ll soon be paying more for V-Bucks. You’ll also get fewer free V-Bucks from the game’s battle pass, and fewer from the game’s Fortnite Crew subscription.
At the same time, Epic Games has reduced the V-Bucks cost of the battle pass (and the OG, Music and LEGO Passes) slightly in a move that makes this seem a little more palatable. But in a world where all of the game’s big collaborations land in the Fortnite shop, it’s the rise in V-Bucks prices that will likely see fans ultimately forking over more money than before.
Another major change will see the Fortnite battle pass only include the exact number of V-Bucks necessary to buy the next one, rather than providing half its value again as a bonus.
$8.99 will now get you 800 V-Bucks, down from 1000, which is also the new cost of the game’s main battle pass and OG Pass. (The Music and LEGO passes will cost 1,200 V-Bucks going forward, instead of 1,400.)
$22.99 will get you 2,400 V-Bucks (previously 2,800), $36.99 is now worth 4,500 (down from 5,000), while $89.99 will get you 12,500 V-Bucks (instead of 13,500). If you’re topping up your account with an exact amount of V-Bucks to buy a specific item, meanwhile, it now costs $0.99 per 50 V-Bucks rather than $0.50, effectively doubling the price.
Other than stating that it needs help paying the bills, Epic Games has not made any further comment on the reasoning for the price rises. The changes will go into effect on March 19, at the beginning of the next battle royale season — a trailer for which dropped to fan acclaim just yesterday. (Surely Dwayne Johnson doesn’t cost that much? Maybe he does.)
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
