Riot’s free-to-download League of Legends fighting game 2XKO is out now in early access, and the launch has brought with it various bundles, including one based on much-loved animation Arcane that costs a whopping $100.
Fans who want the Arcane skins for Vi, Jinx, and Ekko must buy the $100 Ultra Starter Edition. There is no way to buy the skins for each character individually.
The bundle includes the aforementioned Arcane skins, all Arcane skin chromas, an Arcane sticker set, 5,000 KO points (the in-game currency), plus everything in the cheaper Deluxe and Standard bundles. As you'd expect, all the contents amounts to more than $100 in terms of the individual value of what's included here, but that hasn’t stopped some fans from reacting with a mix of disbelief and frustration at the way Riot is handling microtransactions so early in the game’s life.
2XKO is free-to-play, so fans expected somewhat aggressive monetization. But forcing players to buy the $100 bundle to get any of the Arcane skins rather than selling them standalone has drawn criticism. A cursory glance at the 2XKO subreddit, social media, and Discord shows the vociferous debate this bundle has sparked into life. “No separate buy? I only play vi,” complained VaninaG. “Like the value of the bundle is not bad, is like buying a game+season pass, but if there's no separate buy for the skins it's kinda predatory because some might just want to spend 10-20 in one skin.”
Arcane is hugely popular and brought an army of newcomers into the League of Legends universe. It makes sense that Riot would want to lean on the Netflix animation, its characters and their designs for 2XKO’s launch. And the developer has raised eyebrows for its monetization for its other games, including League of Legends, in the past, so for some this approach for 2XKO comes as no surprise.
Of course, Riot isn’t alone in employing these sorts of tactics when it comes to selling virtual video game items. Whether it’s forcing players to buy bundles instead of standalone items, selling bundles of virtual currency that always leave you with a little bit left over so you’re encouraged to spend more, or FOMO-inducing battle passes and in-game shops that make items available for a limited period only, gamers have become accustomed to expensive cosmetics that are often pricier than entire games.
The question for Riot is whether 2XKO’s launch monetization does the business. Complaints from the vocal hardcore online probably won’t move the internal needle if the masses open their wallets. But some are already comparing 2XKO to Warner Bros.' failed free-to-download fighting game MultiVersus, which similarly drew controversy for the way it sold virtual items.
IGN’s 2XKO early access review returned an 8/10. We said: “2XKO has found a way to distill what's fun about tag fighters while mitigating a lot of the pain points that typically come with the territory.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
It was Pikmin all along