The price of cosmetic items in Elite Dangerous has nearly doubled without warning, causing backlash and concern within the community. Frontier’s decision to increase prices and introduce real-world cash purchases for ships has sparked mixed reactions, with players expressing worries about the impact on the game’s financial model and future monetization strategies.
The price of cosmetic items in Elite Dangerous has almost doubled without warning, causing concern and upset within the community. The increase affects paint jobs, ship kits, and other cosmetics that are purchased with a fictional currency called ARCs, which can be bought with real money. A spreadsheet from April 30th showed the old prices of cosmetic items, which have now significantly increased. For example, the cheapest Adder paint job went from 300 ARCs to 1,600 ARCs, almost doubling in price.
Frontier’s decision to increase prices and introduce real-world cash purchases for ships indicates a shift in their financial model for Elite Dangerous. While the game requires funding for further development, the sudden price hikes and introduction of new monetization methods have sparked mixed reactions within the community. Some players support the need for revenue generation, but are wary of the potential slippery slope that these changes may lead to in the future.
The lack of prior notification about the price increase has left players with stockpiled ARCs at a disadvantage, as the value of their currency has decreased without warning. This consumer-unfriendly approach has led to hesitation among players to purchase cosmetic items, especially considering that these digital items have no production costs. Frontier’s actions suggest a focus on increasing profits rather than covering actual expenses related to the cosmetic items.
The current prices of cosmetic items in Elite Dangerous align with those seen in free-to-play live service games, despite Elite Dangerous not being a free-to-play title. The handling of the price increase by Frontier has been criticized for its lack of transparency and communication with the community. The evolving nature of cash shops in live service games indicates that future changes in monetization methods for Elite Dangerous are unpredictable, potentially leading to further discontent among players.
Frontier’s financial decisions have led to an increase in their share prices, indicating success from a business perspective. However, players are primarily concerned with having a fair and enjoyable gaming experience amidst the changes in monetization. The community’s feedback and reactions to these developments will likely influence how Frontier continues to evolve the monetization strategies in Elite Dangerous.