Epic Games announced this week that Fortnite's virtual currency, V-bucks, will become more expensive, with a somewhat light-hearted statement: "The cost of running Fortnite has increased significantly, and we're raising prices to help cover those costs," the company wrote. The price increase will take effect on March 19, the same day Fortnite's next major season launches, and enough users have complained about the increase that an Epic employee acknowledged the protests in a post on Reddit.
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"I think what we've announced publicly is pretty accurate," said Andre Balta, Epic's senior director of ecosystem development. "It's purely the cost of running a business, and that was the main driver. We will continue, as a business, to focus on creating amazing games and gaming experiences, but the price increase is a direct consequence of operating expenses."
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Balta declined to give a percentage or dollar value for how those operating costs have changed.
Currently, $8.99 gets you a 1,000 V-Bucks pack , but after the change, that same price will only get you 800 V-Bucks . Other V-Bucks packs will offer smaller amounts of V-Bucks for the same pack prices. Epic last increased the price of V-Bucks in 2023 .
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“We’re just investing a lot in growing the ecosystem,” adds Steve Allison, General Manager of the Epic Games Store. He says there are a lot of “amazing things coming out in the next 6 to 12 months that, I think, when you look back, you’ll understand what was going on.”
