The new season of Fortnite is just around the corner, bringing back the Chapter 1 map. Our Fortnite author Christos was there live and was excited. But when he saw the price of the Battle Pass, the fun faded away.
Update, November 6: Epic Games does not want to comment on this.
Epic Games monetizes Fortnite through five means:
- Skins and items from the shop
- the Battle Pass
- Event passes
- Skin packs for real money
- Crew Pack
- V-Bucks
While event passes and skins, crew packs, and V-Bucks are a topic of their own, skins in the shop and the Battle Pass have fixed prices that have existed for years.
As a long-time player with over 2000 hours of gameplay, I constantly follow Fortnite and have also dealt with leaks about upcoming content like Season 5. I already knew in advance that the current season would offer a smaller Battle Pass, as it only lasts for one month instead of the usual 3-4 months.
However, I was skeptical about what price Epic Games would set for this. I thought: since there would be only 4 skins with associated items, Epic would lower the price by half.
So instead of 950 V-Bucks (approximately €8.99 for a normal pass), down to 400 or 500 V-Bucks, but I was wrong.
Instead, I read while writing the patch notes that Epic demands the same price for the Battle Pass as one would pay for a normal-sized one.
I consider this to be a nasty trick because it seems to me that Epic Games is exploiting the emotions of players, and I will tell you why.
Did you miss the trailer for Season 5? Then we have just the thing for you:
Epic is apparently exploiting OG and rarity to lure you in
What bothers me about it? I wouldn’t have said anything if the Battle Pass had been reduced, but demanding the same price for less content feels wrong to me. Normally, a regular Battle Pass offers 8 skins, including 7 in the pass and 1 as a “Secret Skin”, as a bonus.
Usually, the bonus is a skin from a collaboration. Each skin also gets its own set of back bling, pickaxe, stickers, paint jobs, and emotes. In Season 5, it’s the same; however, you only get half of what you would normally get for 950 V-Bucks.
In the pass, you only receive 4 instead of the usual 8 skins, which include:
- Spectrum Knight
- Lil’ Split
- Omegorok
- Marauder Lynx
I am excited that Epic has chosen to revive the old map from Chapter 1 along with weapons and vehicles as a theme, but to me, it seems like they are purposely exploiting the “OG” theme and the rarity of certain items to attract players who want to complete their collection or drift back into nostalgia.
Just the skins in the Battle Pass are a mix of various favorites that were released in Chapter 1 between 2017 and 2019 and have not been available since. Players who didn’t play back then but wanted the skins now have a chance to get similar items.
However, the skins are not special in this sense, as these models already exist in their old form through their predecessors:
- Peely as a naked banana already exists as a summer skin
- Omegorok is just a mix of Omega and Ragnarok with an additional 5 color styles
- The Marauder is a mix of Lynx and Renegade Raider
- The Knight is a mix of the Ice King and the Black Knight
So these are not “new ideas”, but rather a special kind of reskins in which two skins have been combined.
Additionally, Epic will temporarily bring old items back to the shop in their “OG Shop” so that players have another chance to purchase them, but beware: if you are not quick enough, you will miss them again and no longer have a chance to get them.
For those who don’t know what OG is, it stands for “Original Gangster.” Something or someone is referred to as OG if they have been there from the beginning. All the old skins from Chapter 1 are thus OG and for many a coveted collector’s item to show off in front of other newcomers or players.
In essence, this seems to me to be a cunning plan to attract both old and new players to Fortnite, making them beg at the checkout. FOMO in its most natural form, and unfortunately, I also know that it will work on me. I am still missing some rare skins and emotes that I did not acquire in Chapter 1, and thus I will fall into the trap.
Nevertheless, I cannot understand the price of the Battle Pass. I want to know why, despite the stripped-down version of the Battle Pass, it still carries the same price as a full pass.
We have asked Epic Games for a statement to explain the pricing policy of the current pass. Once we have it, I will include it here in the post.
What do you think of the price of the Battle Pass? Do you find it justified, or do you also get angry at the thought? Let us know in the comments!
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