🔗 Share this article

A number of Fortnite players are feeling disappointed, and it's not due to recent in-game events. The game's current limited-time event, which brings a Simpsons-themed world, also rolled out a fresh mechanic known as pets. It's impossible to deny that the new companions are adorable. However, the associated costs have left numerous players stunned at the developer's attempts to monetize nearly every part of the game.

Understanding Companion Pets?

Sidekicks are essentially similar to digital creatures, but having some drawbacks. Players can give them a name, and they will accompany you throughout a game. These sidekicks are indestructible, and you can interact with them. Other gamers outside your squad are unable to view these pets — and showing off one's companions is arguably a big part of the fun of owning them. Sidekicks can be outfitted with outfits and gestures, however the controversy centers on their looks. Each pet's main design can only be changed once, after which that selection becomes permanent. You can choose a companion's coat color, accent hues, iris tones, markings, and their build size.

A Expensive Personalization Mechanism

Should you later choose that they'd like your pet to appear a bit altered, you cannot simply further modify its appearance. Players must buy another companion. And, sidekicks are not inexpensive. The majority of people are obtaining the banana-themed sidekick, since it's packaged with the current reward track. Based on unofficial reports, future pets may cost from 1,000 to 1,500 V-Bucks; to put that in perspective, 1,000 V-Bucks costs $8.99 and 2,800 V-Bucks are $22.99. However, players can change the name of a sidekick whenever they want.

Community Reaction and Comparisons

The majority of sidekicks haven't been officially launched so far, meaning the cost could well be adjusted. Yet regardless of whether the developer makes companions more affordable, a lot of the frustration comes from the reality that gamers might have to pay for a single kind of pet multiple times. To certain players, the cost structure seems particularly egregious when the game has previously added companions that are carried around inside backpack accessories. Backpack companions lack a customization limitation and are visible by other players in the game. Back bling pets cannot be given a name or perform gestures, however opposing gamers can occasionally interact with them — and this is better than being invisible altogether.

The absence of special features and limited engagement options have numerous gamers experiencing underwhelmed. For instance, why is it not possible to a player, such as, play fetch with their fancy banana dog? A few note that sidekicks do not always keep up with the player if a game is moving quickly, or mention that Peels occupies two slots in the battle pass — which supports the notion that the company is squeezing players for revenue. Profit-driven is a term that's coming up often in such conversations, with a number of comparing pet pricing to similar intense monetization models in titles like EA Sports FC. It also adds to the issue that some sidekicks are expected to be pricier than their character skin counterparts.

"PLEASE avoid purchasing Sidekicks," pleads one popular online thread that advises fellow gamers to figuratively vote with their wallets.

"I know these pets are cute," the post adds, "I know they're fun. We are aware we have all been anticipating them. However the greed on display is unacceptable and should not be rewarded."

The Broader Picture of Virtual Purchases

Over the past few years, Fortnite's special occasions and collaborations have grown in scale and aspiration, but the no-cost-to-start game still must earn revenue. As such, the sheer quantity of cosmetics players are able to currently purchase has become nearly overwhelming. Beyond basics like back blings, deployment tools, harvesting tools, and gestures, players might possibly use money on shoes, songs, instruments, building blocks, cars, tires, vehicle drift colors, battle passes, and a membership. Sidekicks not only require money, and also bring in a host of fresh revenue options for the company. It is likely, players will before long be in a position to spend for items like sidekick looks, outfits, gestures, and additional engagement features.

All of these cosmetics are entirely optional and not necessary to enjoy the game, yet equipment can nonetheless affect your community interactions. Kids, for example, sometimes face bullying for using impressive sufficiently cool skins. A comparable situation also occurred when the developer launched licensed kicks, which can range from 600 to 1,000 V-Bucks. The footwear pricing scheme was not popular either, and some players promised that they'd avoid fall prey to the temptation at the time. However in the end, purchasing footwear became normalized. Today, sidekicks are further testing the limits of how much a player might be willing to pay to be distinctive within the crowd.

What's Ahead for Companion Pets?

Pets are still a fairly recent addition, and they're part of a game that updates frequently. Some fans are sharing that they have received a survey that gauges how people think about pet mechanics and pricing, which could possibly indicate that the company's strategy are still fluid. But if Fortnite footwear are any indication, companions probably will not get cheaper in general — there will just be a broader range of prices to choose from.

After all, while some players are expressing anger at the game shop prices, others are experiencing nothing but joy for their new battle royale pals.