Riot Games has announced that it will be adjusting the prices of its virtual currency and fans are not happy. The in-game currencies are about to increase from 4% to 76%. Starting September 18, virtual currency for games such as League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, VALORANT, and League of Legends: Wild Rift will be adjusted. Here’s why Riot Games has announced this price hike and what regions are affected.
Image Credits: Riot Games
Fans disappointed with price hike, but Riot Games gives explanation
Fans were disappointed with the recent announcement. The price increase affected most countries in Asia-Pacific and the OCE region. Meanwhile, Europe suffered the highest percentage of price increases.
Ukraine, still at war with Russia, will receive the highest price increase of 64% to 76% across different game titles. Ukraine’s in-game currency pricing was the lowest among other countries since Riot Games paused the price increase way back in 2022 because of the ongoing war. Riot Games pointed out that Ukraine has been the top target for out-of-market purchases. Most in-game purchases were made outside of the country.
The price adjustment aims to address issues like this. Players tend to buy in-game currency through Discord server shops, Facebook pages, and other social media platforms because it’s cheaper than directly buying it in-game. These sellers offer up to 30% discount to attract buyers. Suppliers use VPN to purchase in-game currency from other countries which offer lower rates. They exploit the pricing difference per region for their own gain.
“Our hope is that by balancing currency values more consistently across regions, we can reduce the opportunities for exploitation and maintain fairness for everyone,” Riot told fans.
Fans were quick to voice their disappointments. Some fans agreed that this is a good reason to stop spending on in-game cosmetics because it’s too expensive. Players from developing countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia were saddened by the news. Since their purchasing power is lower, the price increase will affect the frequency of their in-game purchases.
Riot Games claims that this change is necessary. To ease the pain of those affected by the upcoming price hike, there is an ongoing bonus for all virtual currencies on in-client purchases.
Players can now top up their accounts for the bonus reward before price adjustments go live.
