Rocket League item prices have become obscenely high in the car soccer game’s latest update, with its players frustrated by the changes Psyonix has made with its new blueprint system.
Previously, Rocket League players were given crates that contained one of a number of cosmetic items at random. Each crate had a theme — for instance, Totally Awesome crates contained items with an ’80s aesthetic. These crates could then be opened using keys, which could be purchased using real-world cash or obtained in-game by leveling up.
Psyonix announced that it would do away with crates in favor of blueprints. In theory, these would be more player-friendly — blueprints were to remove the randomized element of crates and instead show players what items they would receive upfront. While this is still true, actually “building” the items listed in each blueprint cost credits, which are sold for a ludicrous amount of cash. This means that in order to get your hands on an exotic set of wheels, you could be required to spend $20 in order to get the number of credits required to build the blueprint.
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The keys required to open crates were previously sold for USD $1.49 individually, $4.99 for five keys, $9.99 for ten keys, and $19.99 for 20 keys. While you never knew what you were going to get when you used a key to open a crate, there was a chance that it would net you a high-end exotic or import item.
Now, blueprints come with a credit price attached to them, which is an issue when the credits cost the following amount:
- 500 Credits – $4.99 USD or region equivalent
- 1,100 Credits – $9.99 USD or regional equivalent
- 3,000 Credits – $24.99 USD or regional equivalent
- 6,500 Credits – $49.99 USD or regional equivalent
This means that in order to build my blueprint for exotic Creeper wheels, I’d have to fork out $15 in order to purchase the 1,600 credits required. Even lesser rare items can cost 400 credits, meaning that I’d need to pay $4.99 to unlock them. Considering that this could be achieved with a single $1.49 key, which could also be earned in-game, Rocket League‘s in-game economy has tipped all the way to exorbitantly expensive.
Players have inevitably voiced their criticisms of this change. In the thread outlining the blueprints update on the Rocket League subreddit, users are falling over one another to condemn the switch away from crates. Another thread simply titled ‘Prices…‘ has topped the subreddit, with players bemoaning the blueprints system.
But the expensiveness of these items isn’t the only problem Rocket League players have with the update. With the crate and key system, the randomization of what players received from each crate meant that the value of each item was always one key. Sure, exotic and import items had a lower chance of appearing in the crate, but you only ever spent used a $1.49 key per each item. However, now Psyonix has given each in-game item a monetary value, in which an exotic item that was previously cool to receive but still worth only worth $1.49 can now be worth upwards of $20.
For many, this makes Rocket League less entertaining in general. I’m a frequent Rocket League player, and while crates were basically loot boxes with all the negatives associated with them, at least they could be obtained fairly frequently and didn’t cost a lot if you did wanted to invest in them. Unfortunately, Psyonix has now introduced a whole new economy into its game, one that makes it feel far more mercenary and money-grabbing in the process.
Hopefully, Psyonix is listening to its community and introduces some changes in the near future. It’s unfortunate that one of modern gaming’s greatest underdog stories has veered so heavily down this path, but it seems likely that its player base will be too loud to ignore.
