Some Fortnite fans have a bad taste in their mouths, and it’s not because they’ve savaged Peely alongside The Simpsons family. The game’s new mini-season, which transforms the map into Springfield, also introduced a new mechanic in the form of sidekicks. There’s no denying that Fortnite’s new pets are cute. But the associated prices have left some fans aghast at Epic Games’ attempts to monetize as many aspects of the game as possible.
Sidekicks are basically Pokémon, but slightly worse. You can name them, and the sidekicks will follow you around during a match. They’re immortal, and you can pet them. Other people outside of your party can’t see sidekicks — and showing off your animal friends is arguably half the fun of having them. Sidekicks can be decked out with outfits and emotes, but the controversy revolves around their appearance. A sidekick’s overarching look can only be changed once, at which point that selection becomes permanent. You can choose a sidekick’s coat color, accent hues, eye colors, pattern, and their build size.
If you later decide that you want your sidekick to look slightly different, you can’t just further customize its appearance. You have to buy another sidekick. And sidekicks aren’t cheap. Most people are getting the Peels sidekick, because it comes packed with this season’s battle pass. According to leaks, upcoming sidekicks can cost anywhere between 1,000 to 1,500 V-Bucks; for reference, 1,000 V-Bucks costs $8.99 and 2,800 V-Bucks cost $22.99. You can, however, rename a sidekick as many times as you’d like.
Most sidekicks haven’t been officially released yet, so the pricing may well change. But even if Epic makes sidekicks cheaper, much of the anger is rooted in the fact the publisher expects fans to potentially pay for a single type of sidekick more than once. For some, the pricing scheme feels particularly egregious when Epic Games has already implemented pets that ride around inside of back blings. Back bling pets do not have a customization limitation and can be seen by other players in the match. Back bling buddies can’t be named or perform emotes, but other players can sometimes interact with them — which is better than being invisible altogether.
The lack of unique features and limited interaction options have many players feeling underwhelmed. Why can’t you, for example, play fetch with your fancy banana dog? Some point out that sidekicks do not always keep up with the player if a match is moving quickly as well, or note that Peels takes up two slots in the battle pass — which reinforces the idea Epic Games is squeezing players for money. “Greedy” is a word that’s popping up a lot during these discussions, with some comparing sidekick monetization to EA’s intense pricing schemes in games like EA Sports FC. It also doesn’t help that some sidekicks are expected to be more expensive than their character skin counterparts.
“PLEASE do not buy Sidekicks,” pleads one highly-voted Reddit thread that urges other players to proverbially vote with their wallets.
“I know they’re cute,” the thread continues, “I know they’re fun. I know we have all been looking forward to them. But the greed on display is disgusting and should not be rewarded.”
In recent years, Fortnite’s events and collaborations have grown in scope and ambition, but the free-to-play game still needs to make money. As such, the sheer number of things players can now purchase has become nearly overwhelming. Beyond basics like back blings, gliders, pickaxes, and emotes, you could potentially spend cash on shoes, songs, instruments, Lego pieces, cars, tires, vehicle drift colors, battle passes, and a subscription. Sidekicks not only cost money, but also introduce a host of new monetization options for Epic. Presumably, players will soon be able to pay for things like sidekick appearances, costumes, emotes, and further interaction options.
All of these cosmetics are completely optional and not necessary to enjoy the game, but equipment can still influence your social experience. Kids, for example, sometimes get bullied for not wearing impressive enough skins. A similar debacle also transpired when Epic Games introduced brand-name kicks, which can range from 600 to 1,000 V-Bucks. Kick pricing scheme was not well received either, and some fans swore that they wouldn’t fall prey to the pressure at the time. But ultimately, purchasing kicks became normalized. Now, sidekicks are further testing the limits of what a player might be willing to pay to stand out amongst the crowd.
Sidekicks are still a fairly new feature, and they exist in a game that updates regularly. Some fans are reporting that they’ve received a survey that gauges how people feel about sidekick mechanics and monetization, which could potentially mean that Epic Games’ plans are still fluid. But if Fortnite shoes are any indication, sidekicks probably won’t become cheaper overall — there will just be a wider range of prices to shop.
After all, where some are raging at Fortnite shop prices, others are experiencing nothing but joy for their new battle royale pals.
