Riot Games’ new multiplayer game, Valorant, has been making waves in the gaming industry lately, mainly because of the fresh shooter experience Valorant provides.
Valorant enhances the gaming experience through a vast collection of skins, but these skins come at a hefty price. Why are they so expensive? Here is what I found!
Why Are Valorant Skins So Expensive?
Valorant skins are so expensive because Valorant is a free-to-play game, meaning Riot Games can only profit by selling skins. A large team of high-earning professionals creates Valorant skins. They make Valorants skins with additional features that enhance gameplay, which is the true value gamers are paying for with every skin they purchase.
If you are interested in learning more about the purpose of Valorant skins and how these skins impact Valorant’s gameplay and, therefore, the skin’s price, keep on reading!
1. Valorant Is A Free-To-Play Shooter Game
Unlike popular PC shooter games like Call Of Duty, Valorant is free-to-play, meaning that it will cost you nothing to download Valorant on multiple platforms.
Once you have Valorant set up, you can start playing right away, either with your friends or by yourself. Additionally, there are no purchases you have to make to keep playing.
Therefore, all the monetary investments you may or may not make are Valorant skins.
Moreover, since Riot Games needs to profit to maintain Valorant, the skins will naturally be expensive.
2. Riot Games Profits Mainly From Skins
When Riot Games decided to make Valorant free for all, it narrowed its primary source of income to selling Valorant skins.
That said, even with advertising and game tournaments broadcast revenues, through in-game purchases like Valorant skins, Riot Games can sustain operations for Valorant.
Also, with all the technical and creative work needed to keep Valorant running and provide the necessary support to gamers, Valorant skins have to be sold with a hefty price tag.
3. Valorant Skins Come With Additional Features
While it is true that Valorant skins do not give you any clear advantage in the game, Valorant skins come with perks that skins from a lot of shooter games do not have.
For example, when you purchase a skin, you can enjoy unique visual designs, inspect sound elements, and headshot audio, all of which can increase your gameplay engagement.
Moreover, skins can make weapons lightweight and seemingly more effective. So, with this combination of elements packed into each skin, prices are guaranteed to be higher.
4. Valorant Skins Make Gameplay Aesthetically Pleasing
In Valorant, gamers have to stare at their characters’ hands and weapons for extended periods. What better way to spice up the gameplay than through stunning skins, right?
After all, pleasing visuals are crucial in any game, and Riot Games invests a lot in creating skin bundles that cater to specific themes and aesthetics.
Moreover, gamers who have access to skins that reflect their persona, may it be through the skin’s color combinations or design, are more likely to enjoy their time on Valorant.
Consequently, if you want to win battles with your friends in style, you have to be willing to pay the price.
5. Skins Prices Are Riot’s Decision Alone
Any third-party organization cannot arbitrate in-game purchases like skins. That said, this aspect of shooter games is simply not up for discussion outside of Riot Games.
For example, only Riot Games and its officials have the authority to set skin prices and dictate any decrease or increase in the skin’s prices.
Therefore, whenever Riot Games feels like an increase in skin prices are due, you can trust it can do it without opposition, except maybe from the gaming community.
Currently, Riot Games feels that the prices of its skins are justified, and there is nothing anybody can do about it.
6. Demand For Skins Are Soaring
It does not matter that Valorant skins provide no real advantage on the playing field; modern gaming is all about customization, and gamers are willing to pay for the skins they want.
Further, as gaming technology developed over the years, gamers have been given a chance to create personas that benefit their experience, and Valorant excels in that.
Additionally, Valorant is a multi-player game, which can promote peer pressure when other people within your party are playing with beautiful skins.
Therefore, all these factors spike up the demand for Valorant skins, and Riot Games can take advantage of that demand by increasing the cost of the skins.
7. Creating Valorant Skins Is Tough Work
Behind the extensive collection of Valorant skins that gamers enjoy is an even larger team of creatives and specialists that generate these skins.
Naturally, producing creative and technical work in the gaming industry is an exacting job but a high-paying one.
So, to cover the salaries of the team that create Valorant skins, Riot Games has to sell Valorant skins at an extravagant sum.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on why World of Warcraft is so expensive, why Minecraft is so expensive, and why Earthbound is so expensive.
Conclusion
A lot of gamers are complaining that Valorant skins are so expensive. However, many people fail to realize that Valorant skins are adequately priced.
Remember, it takes a team of industry experts to produce high-quality Valorant skins, and Riot Games uses these skins to generate revenue from its free-to-play shooter game.
So, with the effort and costs it takes to produce and maintain a game like Valorant, it only makes sense that Riot Games is selling Valorant skins at a high price.