$22 for a skin? Players are divided over this controversial Marvel Rivals price tag

Would you pay $22 for a single cosmetic? No, this isn’t some limited-time thing we’re talking about—it’s just a new skin in Marvel Rivals. That’s exactly what’s causing a stir in the community, as some of the latest skin bundles come with a price tag that’s making even the most devoted players wince.

Each bundle includes a skin, an MVP animation, a spray, and a nameplate. That sounds decent… until you compare it to the game’s Battle Pass, which costs less than half of a single skin and offers ten skins plus a heap of other cosmetics. The math here isn’t mathing for a lot of players, and the frustration has boiled over into Reddit discussions, where one post summed it up perfectly: “I freaking love the new Luna skin but holy moly, $22 for a skin is INSANE!”

That same player explained that they’d spent a shameful amount of money in Smite—we’re talking nearly 200 skins—but even then, they felt those prices were reasonable. The idea of forking over $22 for one skin, though? That was a firm “nope.” And they’re not alone.

Some players see the high price as inevitable, arguing that game companies charge what people are willing to pay. “They charge what people pay. People pay these prices,” one user pointed out.

But not everyone is happy with that mindset, with another player responding, “That’s how prices in games like League and Valorant started hitting triple-digit prices lol.” And they have a point—developers have no reason to stop the climb when a community collectively shrugs at rising prices.

One ex-League of Legends player added: “The prices people will pay for cosmetics is disgusting. In League, there’s a growing list of skins that cost $250 to acquire.” That’s not a typo. That’s a quarter of a grand for one skin if you’re unlucky with the game’s loot system. Suddenly, $22 sounds like a bargain (but let’s not give NetEase any ideas).

Of course, no conversation about overpriced cosmetics would be complete without mentioning Genshin Impact, the undisputed king of “whale” spending. One player pointed out that compared to Genshin’s monetization, this is small potatoes: “OP, have you ever heard of Genshin Impact? Aka the god of microtransactions? Guys spend $10k-$100k EASY on that. So many people bragging about C6ing/R5ing multiple characters—it takes thousands of dollars, and A LOT of people do it.”

If Marvel Rivals is just trying to get a slice of Genshin’s pie, then yeah, they’re going to push prices as far as players let them.

Another take? This is just capitalism doing its thing. “People vote with their wallets. If enough people buy the skin, the prices will remain the same or even go higher.”

One player took a more balanced approach, pointing out that Marvel Rivals is actually fairly monetized—especially when compared to other games. They noted that the Battle Pass is an insane bargain, giving back enough currency to buy the next one while also offering multiple skins. In contrast, premium skins are definitely on the expensive side, but they’re not game-breaking.

The reality is that people are still buying these skins—which means Marvel Rivals has no reason to lower their prices. If players really want change, they need to stop buying them outright or at least only use in-game currency earned for free.

Units can be earned through the unpaid Battle Pass, though it takes a while to save up. Still, that’s a better option than dropping $22 every time a cool new skin drops. Because if we keep throwing money at these prices, one day, we’ll wake up and find ourselves debating whether $50 is reasonable for a basic recolor—and at that point, we’ll only have ourselves to blame.