Epic are hiking Fortnite V-Buck prices to “pay the bills”, because those server farms don’t run on peanuts

Epic are raising the price of Fortnite’s V-bucks currency, in what the billion dollar publishers frame as a bid to keep the wolf from the door. You’ll now stand to pay almost twice as much for Exact Amount packs, with smaller increases kicking in for the larger fixed wodges of Fort-doubloons. You’ll also learn less from Fortnite’s battle pass in future, though this and other Fortnite passes will also be cheaper to compensate.

“The cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot and we’re raising prices to help pay the bills,” Epic announce with admittedly refreshing brusqueness in a new blog post. They don’t explain how and why costs have gone up, though. Let me squeeze into my Business Commentator Suit, crafted by drawing pinstripes on some old pyjamas in felt-tip, and shakily claim that some of it’s due to inflation brought on by wartime oil price rises, rising server farm costs due to RAMnarok, and the Trump administration’s tariff regime (which Fortnite has previously made fun of).

If you have any sounder theories, I want to hear them. I would quite like to see Epic’s own working, because they don’t seem to be struggling for sofa change on the face of it. The Epic Games Store brought in $1.16 billion of revenue in 2025, a six percent rise on the previous year. Epic recently started allowing Fortnite players to sell items in-game, taking a 50% cut on each transaction.

Those price increases, then. An $8.99 pack will now offer 800 V-bucks, not 1000. A $22.99 pack will get you 2400 V-Bucks, not 2800. A $36.99 pack is good for 4500 V-Bucks, not 5000. And $89.99 equals 12500 V-Bucks, not 13500. As for Exact Amount packs, 50 V-Bucks now costs around a dollar, not 50 cents. Exact regional pricing will vary, of course.

Epic promote their Epic Rewards credit system alongside the price hikes, noting “you get 20% back in Epic Rewards on purchases in Fortnite, Fall Guys, and Rocket League when they are made through the Epic Games Store or Epic’s payment system across PC, iOS, Android, and web, including the purchase of V-Bucks.” The credit can be used in Fortnite, in other Epic-published games, or on the Epic Games Store using Epic’s payment system.

As for Fortnite’s Battle Pass, this will now cost 800 V-Bucks and earn you 800 V-Bucks for completing it. Rather than costing you 1000 V-Bucks and earning you up to 1500 V-Bucks including Bonus Rewards.

Other Fortnite passes are getting price changes, too. As of the new pricing rollout, Fortnite’s OG Pass will set you back 800 V-Bucks (previously 1000), while the Music Pass and the LEGO Pass weigh in at 1200 V-Bucks (previously 1400). The post doesn’t specify whether the offerings from those passes will vary accordingly.

Fortnite Crew members will get 800 V-Bucks with their subscription, as of March 19th, rather than 1000. Epic are also dropping the price of the Battle Bundle – which gives you a Battle Pass plus 25 levels of unlocks – from 2800 to 2600 V-Bucks.

Existing V-Bucks gift cards are still redeemable for the printed values. Treasure those gift cards, because they are now products of a lost era, when imaginary money didn’t take quite as terrible a slice out of your household expenses. I would stuff a mattress with them, if you have enough. I would build a nest out of them on your roof, like a magpie. I would bury a lockerbox of those giftcards in the magnanimous earth near your childhood home, as a promise to your future self that the sun also rises.