Microtransactions have been around for a while now and have been prevalent in almost every major online game this century, but things are finally starting to change. Loot boxes were heavily targeted in the late 2010s and now virtual currencies in general have been the focus of governments and regulatory agencies. It’s why this is the perfect time for Epic Games to make a change to Fortnite that’s been long-requested by their players.
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Today, Epic Games announced that on October 14, 2025, players can purchase the exact amount of V-Bucks they need to buy an item from the in-game Item Shop. There is a caveat, though: you can only buy V-Bucks in increments of 50 V-Bucks because that will align with the cost of the items; you can’t buy, say, 44 V-Bucks because that’s pointless. This change is also coming to Rocket League and Fall Guys, but even then, there’s another caveat: this option will be available on all those games and all platforms except for PlayStation.
An Upcoming EU Law Likely Influenced Fortnite’s V-Bucks Change
This long-standing practice in the industry of not offering exact amounts is probably not changing on its own. The European Union is poised to soon pass the Digital Fairness Act, which would increase gaming consumer rights protections and has language outlawing “forced purchases.” Under this law, game developers would not be allowed to force consumers to spend their money on in-game currency in excess of what they need, and would require developers to give players the option to buy exact currency.
While this law would only be legally binding in the EU, companies often comply universally since it’s easier to do that than to manage separate versions of their game offerings in different regions. This tendency gives large markets with more consumer protections a greater influence over the industry, as seen with the recent UK law that required ID verification to view adult content and became the impetus for Xbox to prepare to implement verification across more regions in the future.
It’s interesting Epic Games failed to mention PlayStation, as compliance with the law will not be system or platform-dependent, though they have promised to work on availability for more places in the future. “This Exact Amount offer is coming to Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys and will be available on Xbox, Nintendo, PC, Android, iPhones, iPads, and the Fortnite web Item Shop,” the post said. “We will work to make this available everywhere.” It’s possible that executing this change on the PlayStation Network is more challenging, which may delay its implementation on PSN compared to other platforms.
Regardless of the reason for the change, I’m glad it is coming as players need every advantage they can get to fight against tricky monetization structures. While it isn’t one of the biggest issues with Fortnite for many players, it is sure to improve the experience for those who spend on the game. One of the current open questions about how this system will work involves changes to discounts for buying in bulk. Even though buying in an exact amount is an option, would it still be better for players to save by buying bulk bundles, effectively making exact purchases a nice, but rarely used option? Someone buying skins for the latest One-Punch Man collab, for example, may get a better deal by purchasing a V-Buck bundle and buying the skins that way, rather than using an exact amount purchase to get the remaining V-Bucks they need.
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Courtesy of Crunchyroll
