If you’ve played Fortnite, you’ve probably purchased some V-bucks. Swiping over to that store page and purchasing V-bucks is a guilty pleasure of mine. Just as the developers intended, I get a little shot of dopamine every time I hit the purchase button and buy some new skin or item. Is it childish? Yes. Is it a waste of money? Debatably. Do I love to do it? Unquestionably yes. Why then when I play a game like NBA 2k or Call of Duty do I feel absolutely repulsed every time the game prompts me to buy some in game currency? It’s effectively the same thing, but when other games offer up some sale I think to myself these are the end stages of capitalism. What makes Fortnite so different?

For starters, Fortnite is free. You can play an infinite amount of Fortnite and access every feature in the game without ever spending a cent. Fortnite has a major advantage here, a game like NBA 2k costs $70. Games like 2k (or any game released by Activision) that prompt you to spend $100s of additional dollars on content feel like a rip off. It feels like the developer is giving you an incomplete game saying “you’re buying a demo for $70, spend another $30 to access the whole game!” Yet, there are other free-to-play games that give me the same ick when they prompt me to buy in game currency. I played hours of Apex Legends and The Finals and never spent a single cent on any of the in-game content. What makes Fortnite different?

What really sets Fortnite apart is its artistic team. The skins in Fortnite are desirable because they are well thought out and well executed. A lot of games pump out AI generated junk and pass it off on the consumer for a steep price. Further, Fortnite’s art style is conducive to silly and fun skins. Running around in Call of Duty as Seth Rogen or a chain-smoking Chameleon just feels out of place given the game’s commitment to military realism. It’s funny to watch Peter Griffin fight Lebron James in Fortnite. It feels almost wrong to murder Seth Rogen with pump action shotgun in Call of Duty. Fortnite also has the third person advantage. You actually get to look at the skin you just purchased rather than simply catching a glimpse at a loading menu. But, above all, Epic games knows how to produce cosmetics that are desirable. 

I’m conflicted on microtransactions. On one hand, they allow great games to be released for free, giving more people more access to great games. On the other hand, they are capitalist tool used to squeeze every dollar possible from the consumer. In the end, I think it comes down to whether the developer puts forth the effort to produce in game content that’s worthy of spending real world money on (I’m not even going to get into developers who use the “pay-to-win” model of microtransactions). What makes the V-buck reign supreme? Maybe it’s because I’m a child at heart. Maybe it’s because it’s just such a funny name, “V-bucks.” Regardless, I hope that if developers are going to subject us to micro transactions, they at least put forth the effort to make us consider hitting that “buy” button.