‘How does Epic think this is ok’: Fortnite players angry over absurd Rocket Racing cosmetic prices

Fortnite‘s newest modes, Rocket Racing and LEGO Fortnite, have players flocking back to the cartoon world for new experiences. However, the in-game cosmetics for Rocket Racing have some steep prices, and they’re making fans angry.

4,000 V-Bucks will get you precisely one Diesel car model, and the others in the shop are currently 2,500. “They really think people are gonna blow 4k vbucks on a model swap and a few wraps?,” one Redditor exclaimed. A reply notes that 4,000 V-Bucks is essentially $35. “Don’t forget that the battle pass has a vehicle body you only had to pay 950 for, or $11 or something which is an absolute steal,” a financially responsible Redditor helpfully commented.

While the prices do seem steep, you technically can use these cosmetics across multiple Fortnite experiences. That makes the pricing a little bit more reasonable, but it’s still absurd to have that much money dumped into a digital car. A good chunk of the bundle is centered around customizing the car, not necessarily the car itself, but still, it’s a steep price for an average cosmetic. After all, you can’t re-sell these cosmetics on some kind of market like Steam; once you enter your credit card information, Epic has your money. That’s it, it’s over, you better hope you enjoyed what you just bought because it’s yours forever, no take-backsies.

“It isn’t even that good of a car…How does Epic think this is ok?! The Lamborghini is going to probably be like 6k V-Bucks isn’t it,” another Redditor exclaimed. Cosmetic prices have only gone up in recent years. This raises an important question: who is to blame? Is it the developers who are likely being given orders from corporate to have certain cosmetics at certain prices? Or is it the gamers, who, by purchasing these ever-increasing bundles, have incentivized the C-Suite suits to continue to raise prices?