Apparently, Epic Games hasn't been making enough money on Fortnite, and needs to raise the price of its premium in-game currency, V-Bucks, to "help pay the bills."
"The cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot and we’re raising prices to help pay the bills."
That's what Epic tells players right at the top of a new blog post, which announces that the base price of the premium currency will be going up. The change goes into effect on March 19, 2026, after which every dollar you spend on V-Bucks will earn you less than it did before.
After March 19, spending $8.99 USD on V-Bucks, which previously got you 1,000 V-Bucks, now only gets you 800 V-Bucks. Spending $22.99 will only net you 2,400 V-Bucks instead of the previous 2,800, the $36.99 pack will only grant 4,500 V-Bucks instead of 5,000, and the $89.99 pack will only get you 12,500 V-Bucks instead of 13,500.
Essentially, the price of 50 V-Bucks has doubled, going from 50 V-Bucks being worth $0.50 to $0.99 (but we can round up and call it a flat $1). You can see the breakdown of the increases in the chart below.
| Pack* | Previous | New | With Epic Rewards* |
| $8.99 Pack | 1,000 V-Bucks | 800 V-Bucks | +$1.79 back |
| $22.99 Pack | 2,800 V-Bucks | 2,400 V-Bucks | +$4.59 back |
| $36.99 Pack | 5,000 V-Bucks | 4,500 V-Bucks | +$7.39 back |
| $89.99 Pack | 13,500 V-Bucks | 12,500 V-Bucks | +$17.99 back |
| Exact Amount Pack | ~$0.50* for 50 V- Bucks | $0.99* for 50 V- Bucks |
The blog post continues to explain that the overall cost for OG passes will go down to 800 V-Bucks to remain in line with what players will get for their $8.99 bundle pack. The Music and LEGO passes will also go down to 1,200 V-Bucks.
Players who pay for Fortnite Crew will also now only get 800 V-Bucks as part of their subscriptions instead of 1,000, and the Battle Bundle will go down from 2,800 V-Bucks to 2,600 V-Bucks. You can also still earn enough V-Bucks by playing through the battle pass to purchase the next one, but V-Buck bonuses will no longer be included as part of the battle pass's bonus rewards.
No one is denying that Fortnite is an expensive game to run. It's every new game's biggest competition and a threat to the rest of the video game industry because of how popular it is and how challenging it is to get people to play something other than Fortnite. It was one of the most-played games in the US in 2025 and 2024, and has become so big that it's now its own platform with a built-in economy.
Anything that big would be expensive to run. It's also not the only game that Epic keeps up on top of its other major live service titles, Unreal Engine, and the Epic Games Store. But it's got to be some kind of slap in the face to try and say that price increases are necessary for Epic to pay its bills. Epic brings in billions across its products. Player spending in the Epic Games Store alone for 2025 was up to $1.16 billion.
It is, frankly, unbelievable that Epic needs to increase V-Bucks prices. Not 'unbelievable' in the sense that it is shocking, but in the sense that it cannot be true that this increase needs to happen. Epic is raising the prices because it knows it has the biggest game on the planet, and whether or not it raises prices, people will continue to play Fortnite and pay for battle passes and skins. If it really is struggling to keep Fortnite online, there are certainly other ways Epic could look to help close the gap without raising V-Buck prices.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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