As Fortnite Enables Third-Party Microtransactions, Steal the Brainrot's Developer is Slammed By Fans For Immediately Adding $45 Premium Bundles and Gambling-Style Mechanics

Fortnite now allows creator-made games to sell in-game items — and immediately, the platform's most popular experience Steal the Brainrot has added $45 premium item bundles and a chance-based roulette wheel.

Steal the Brainrot is Fortnite's biggest third-party game, and over the weekend saw a concurrent peak of more than 1 million users. These players were among the first to witness Steal the Brainrot's new paid-for in-game offerings — such as a 4,900 V-Buck "Present Rot" bundle of two randomized items.

Epic Games enabled third-party microtransactions last Friday, after previously announcing a U-turn on the policy that had set it apart from rival gaming platform Roblox — where Steal a Brainrot originated. Now, third-party games can offer premium in-game items and effects, with developers pocketing 37% of the proceeds — temporarily doubled to 74% for 12 months — while Epic Games itself takes the remaining cut.

Particular criticism for Steal the Brainrot has been levied against a new roulette-style wheel which lets you pay 100 V-Bucks (around a dollar) for random in-game effects or dollops of cash. The spinner's chance-based outcomes include a 2% chance at a Secret Lucky Rot, or a 0.5% chance at a a Secret Grande Rot.

"Fortnite killed the entire reason why they were better than Roblox with this one update," one fan wrote on social media in response. "Can't even implement custom weapons in two years but they can put in tools to create predatory practices with!!"

"We returned to loot boxes on Fortnite, [in] the most popular mode depending on the day, just years after Epic Games was fined for having them on the original Fortnite (Save the World)," wrote another.

I was optimistic about In-Island Translations, but after seeing this gambling style wheel In Steal The Brainrot I think I'm all set... pic.twitter.com/gMXjIOg1g4

Steal the Brainrot's 4,900 V-Buck "Present Rot" bundle has also come under fire — not only for its price, but for it being advertised as a limited-time discount on its usual 5,400 V-Buck cost. One of the constraints Epic Games has placed on third-party microtransactions is a 5,000 V-Buck upper limit for any individual item — meaning this item's saving is discounted from a price that couldn't actually be sold

"Super disappointed in the Brain Rot guys, not only very ethically questionable to do a 'discount' while the feature is not even 24h out but the real prize is not even possible according to the rules," Fortnite third-party developer Richytoons noted. "You make us all look bad with this kind of stuff."

Implementation by other developers seems less egregious, with the popular Murder Mystery game simply allowing players to buy cosmetic items that don't impact gameplay, while Tilted Zone Wars allows users to pay 50 V-Bucks (less than a dollar) to flood the game's map for all players.

Exactly how developers will implement Epic Games' rules on monetization in the long-term remains to be seen. Oddly, Steal the Brainrot suddenly disappeared offline overnight last night for several hours, leading to fan speculation that the game had been pulled by Epic Games over its monetization usage. As of the time of writing, however, the game is now back available, reportedly with no discernible changes.

Fortnite fans first voiced concerns last year that Epic Games' plans risked opening the door to loot box mechanics and predatory monetization within the game. IGN has contacted the company for comment today.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social