Epic says the price hike for Fortnite V-bucks is a “direct correlation” to operating costs

Epic Games announced this week fortnite V-bucks will be in-game currency Get more expensive With a rather spontaneous phrase: “Operating cost fortnite “They have gone up a lot and we are raising prices to help pay the bills.” The company wrote. The price hike will take effect on March 19, the same day as the next key day fortnite The first season is coming out, and enough users have complained that this has increased Epic employee He acknowledged the protests on a post on Reddit.

But when? Edge Epic executives were asked at GDC this week if they could explain why the company raised the price, and they didn’t say much more than that.

“I think what we’re putting out publicly is pretty accurate,” says Andre Balta, senior director of ecosystem growth at Epic. Edge. “It’s pure operating costs of running a business, and that was the main driver. We, as a company, will continue to focus on creating amazing games and gameplay, but the price increases are directly related to operating costs.” Balta declined to give a percentage or dollar value for how those operating costs will change.

Right now, $8.99 gets you a pack of 1,000 V-Bucks, but after the change, the same price will only get you 800 V-Bucks. Other V-bucks packages will offer smaller amounts of V-bucks at the same package prices as well. Epic last raised the price of V-bucks In 2023.

“We’re just investing in growing the ecosystem a lot,” adds Steve Allison, general manager of the Epic Games Store. He says there are a lot of “amazing things coming up in the next, like, 6 to 12 months, and I think when you look back, you’ll understand what was happening.”