Which Game Has the Most Expensive Skins?

Skins are a major cosmetic for nearly every competitive game, but how do prices compare across the big titles? We break down skin pricing for LoL, Overwatch 2, VALORANT, and more.

When it comes to multiplayer games, a lot are currently free-to-play. But a lot of players find themselves still spending money. The usual culprit? Skins.

Skins are highly desirable in multiplayer games because they often show off your dedication to the game or certain character. That’s because you often need to complete objectives or spend time grinding in order to unlock them. Other skins are only available for certain amounts of time, like during special events.

That doesn’t mean that skins don’t come without their frustrations in the gaming community. A lot of times, players feel as if they are getting taken advantage of by greedy publishers that mark up highly desirable skins, looking to cash in on loyal fans. But are the skins in your favorite game truly a rip-off?

League of Legends

There are over 160 champions in League of Legends, all with their own unique designs and styles. Whenever a skin collection is released, a select handful of champions are chosen to get their version of that theme. Some champions have been given this special treatment more than others thanks to their in-game popularity and how often they show up in the competitive meta.

If you are looking to spice up your favorite champion with some fun skins, you’ll need to use RP (formerly called Riot Points). Skins are priced based on their rarity, developers recently explained:

• Ultimate — 3250
• Legendary — 1820
• Epic — 1350
• Standard — 975
• Deluxe — 750

So how much is this in actual real-life currency? First, you have to figure out how much it costs to purchase RP. Right now, the rate is:

• 650 RP: $5
• 1380: $10
• 2800: $20
• 5000: $35
• 7200: $50
• 15000: $100

To get the most pricey League of Legends skins, you essentially need to spend $35 (excluding any gifts or bonuses). This is a bit costly but Ultimate skins are known for having flashy animations when you use that champion’s abilities.

Overwatch 2

The original Overwatch used to have a loot box system that allowed you to purchase or earn loot boxes that contained random cosmetics. This could include skins ranging from Common to Legendary.

In Overwatch 2, however, there is now a battle pass system and most skins are locked behind this progression or by purchasing them. Others are available during special in-game events for a limited time. Developers also added a new rarity level, Mythic, which are skins that can be customized and upgraded. Here’s the price breakdown:

• Common — 100 Credits
• Rare — 300 Credits
• Epic — 1000 Credits
• Legendary — 1900 Credits
• Mythic — 1000 Overwatch Coins

Mythic skins are currently only available in the premium paid-for battle pass. The battle pass costs 1000 Overwatch Coins, which is $10 in real life.

This doesn’t sound too bad but the Overwatch community recently pointed out some frustrating pricing for skins that used to be free in the original game. Skins from previous limited-time events were showing up in the store for $20 to $30. Paying this much for one skin had fans calling Blizzard greedy and missing loot boxes.

I play ana and love owls - so this skin looked pretty sick, but then I found out that costs $20!!!!??? FOR ONE SKIN?? pic.twitter.com/xROWvGtv0U

— Prof Kisuto「Eric」 (@ProfKisuto) June 27, 2023

Fortnite

Fortnite is the king of cosmetics. Known for its epic crossovers with just about every IP you can think of, it’s pretty common to see anime characters, rappers, superheroes, and cartoon icons running around the battle royale map.

Most skins in Fortnite are sold individually or in bundles, ranging from 1500 to 2000 V-Bucks. So how much will that cost you? If you spend real-life money on V-Bucks, here’s the breakdown:

• 1000 V-Bucks - $7.99 (Value: 125 V-Bucks/$)
• 2800 V-Bucks - $19.99 (Value: 140 V-Bucks/$)
• 5000 V-Bucks - $31.99 (Value: 156 V-Bucks/$)
• 13,500 V-Bucks - $79.99 (Value: 168 V-Bucks/$)

You will have to spend around $20 to purchase a skin in Fortnite. This price varies based on your region and if you earned V-Bucks in any other way.

While $20 isn’t the best deal, you may want to fork over the cash for a limited-time skin you like. Why? Rare Fortnite skins have been known to sell for thousands of dollars, including the Skull Trooper skin having bids almost reaching $5,000 on third-party sites.

VALORANT

While VALORANT is known for its dynamic agents with varying abilities, the skins in this FPS are all focused on the weapons, similar to Counter-Strike.

Skins in VALORANT often come out in bundles during limited times — usually in battle passes for one season — and some skins have multiple tiers they can evolve to if you earn enough Radianite Points, giving your weapons animations and beautiful upgrades.

Most skins, however, are a certain rarity. Each rarity has a different value in VP (VALORANT Points). Here’s how that translates into real-world cash:

• Select Edition: 875 VP ($10), 2930 VP ($34) or 3500 VP ($41) per bundle
• Deluxe Edition: 1275 VP ($16) or 5100 ($62) per bundle
• Premium Edition: 1775 VP ($23) or 7100 VP ($82) per bundle
• Ultra Edition: 2475 VP ($30) or 9900 VP ($119) per bundle
• Exclusive Edition: Prices vary

You can purchase VP in-game with real-life money in bundles:

• $4.99 — 475 VP
• $9.99 — 950 VP
• $19.99 — 1900 VP
• $34.99 — 3325 VP

Apex Legends

This battle royale may not be as wacky as Fortnite, but it still has some iconic legends with their own distinct personalities. Each has a large list of skins that come in the following rarity levels:

• Common
• Rare
• Epic
• Legendary

A lot of these skins are released during limited-time events and bundles, meaning you can only get the skins during a short duration. This scarcity combined with their badass appearance has made a lot of Apex Legends skins very desirable, even Rare ones.

Skins in Apex Legends must be purchased with Apex Coins. These can be earned by grinding matches but can also be purchased if you want to instantly snag some skins. If you want to purchase Apex Packs or skins, here’s how much it will cost you:

• 1000 Apex Coins: $10
• 2000 Apex Coins (+150 bonus): $20
• 4000 Apex Coins (+350 bonus): $40
• 6000 Apex Coins (+750 bonus): $60
• 10000 Apex Coins (+1500 bonus): $100

Epic Apex Legends skins will cost you 1,000 Apex Coins while Legendary Apex Legends skins will cost you 1,800 Apex Coins. This means that you will have to pay $10 for an Epic skin and $20 for a Legendary skin in Apex Legends.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2

Call of Duty operators all have their own skins ranging from ultra-serious to ones inspired by celebrities like TimTheTatman and Kevin Durant. In Warzone and Modern Warfare, these skins are available in bundles that have a pretty high price tag for some FPS fans.

Most Call of Duty bundles cost around $20 to $30, most being on the higher end of this range. This equates to 3,000 Call of Duty Points (CP).

While the bundles include multiple items, most CoD players have expressed frustration at the price. Some have even noted that you can buy multiple battle passes for the same price, a better value.

You will find Reddit thread after Reddit thread of Call of Duty players complaining about skin prices in Call of Duty. Microtransactions? More like macrotransations!

Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter 6 features all of the iconic fighting characters you love plus some vibrant newcomers. All of them have alternate costumes that show them in new looks.

The fastest way to unlock these alternate costumes is by buying them with Fighter Coins. These have to be purchased with real money. Here’s how much it costs to purchase Fighter Coins:

• 250 Fighter Coins: $6.99
• 610 Fighter Coins: $11.99
• 1250 Fighter Coins: $23.99
• 2750 Fighter Coins: $49.99

One alternate costume costs 50 Fighter Coins. Unfortunately, the smallest Fighter Coins purchase is still $6.99 for 250 Fighter Coins. On the bright side, this means you can buy five alternate costumes with this purchase.

Street Fighter 6 skins may not have multiple tiers like multiplayer games, but buying skins is still a way to show your loyalty to your main fighter.

Should You Buy Skins in Multiplayer Games?

It is completely up to you if you want to spend real-life money to buy skins in your favorite multiplayer game. Some games have better deals on cosmetics than others, but it all comes down to how much you want to purchase a unique skin for your most-used character or weapon.

It should be noted, however, that most skins can be earned without paying if you are willing to grind the game or complete challenges during a set time period. It can be tempting, of course, to just instantly purchase the skins with IRL money to avoid the tedious process, something game publishers are well aware of.