In another episode of Riot Games selling outrageously overpriced cosmetics and attracting community-wide protests, VALORANT’s latest RGX 3.0 skin bundle has left players fuming, thanks to its nonsensical price tag.
After the third iteration of the iconic RGX 11z Pro collection launched on July 18, several players wasted no opportunity to advise the fandom against hitting the buy button—and it had nothing to do with the quality of the skins.
Besides the mandatory player card, gun buddy, and spray, the newest RGX iteration in VALORANT brings three weapon skins, including gun skins for the Outlaw and Sheriff, and a Karambit melee. Despite featuring just three items, the bundle is priced at a whopping 6,700 VP, which translates to around $65 in real money. That ain’t cheap, but what’s boggling the community is Riot’s shrewd money-making strategy.
“Welcome to the time where Riot Games just does what they want because they know people will spend money on it, and they price it that high because they know it’s going to sell a ton at that price they most likely wanted it higher but decided to settle at 6700,” one player commented under a popular Reddit post, summing up the situation. Another player highlighted the sad truth: “Saw three people in game with everything an hour after it came out. Such a greedy scam.”
The RGX 11z Pro collection had two iterations before Episode Nine—one in Episode Three and another in Episode Four. Both featured four gun skins and a melee and were priced at 8,700 VP, roughly translating to $85 in real money. If we were to compare the tags of the collection’s old bundles to the new one, as several players pointed out in social posts, it clearly makes no sense.
To top it off, it’s not even a new collection. The “new” skins feature the same old VFX and SFX. We can’t ignore the irony of being able to buy fresh collections like Aemondir and Mystbloom—featuring four gun skins and a melee with a new theme—for 7,100 VP and 8,700 VP, respectively, but having to shell out 6,700 VP for an old theme and fewer skins. Yes, some RGX skins give you the divine satisfaction of clean headshots in VALORANT—but Riot’s ask for the 3.0 bundle is in no way justified.
The only selling point of the bundle is the RGX 11z Pro Outlaw, the game’s first animated skin for the recently added double-barreled sniper rifle. You can purchase the Outlaw skin individually for 2,175 VP instead of the entire bundle. At least it’d be lighter on your pocket, and you can save up for a new bundle that is actually “new.”
