Epic permanently lowers cost of Fortnite V-Bucks in a challenge to Apple and Google
Epic Games has permanently reduced the cost of Fortnite's V-Bucks currency, providing as you buy it through one of its preferred payment methods. From today, any V-Bucks you purchase on PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox or Switch will be discounted automatically by "up to 20 percent".
V-Bucks should cost less on mobile from today as well. Epic is introducing its own payment method, Epic direct payment, that plans to circumvent Apple and Google's usual 30 percent fee.
You won't get the saving if you buy V-Bucks on iOS or Android via the App Store or Google Play, but a post on the Fortnite site explains that "if Apple or Google lower their fees on payments in the future, Epic will pass along the savings to you". You can find out more about Epic direct payment in this official blog post.
The price cuts feel like a catapult pointedly aimed at Google and Apple, and a better exchange rate on a virtual currency is good for players. Additionally, if you've purchased V-Bucks in the last 30 days (between July 14 and August 13), Epic will give you 20 percent of your total purchase back as a V-Bucks bonus.
V-Bucks aside, Epic is giving all active Fortnite players a free pickaxe. The Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe is pretty much as you might imagine: a shooting star somehow made into a pickaxe, as you can see below.