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Some battle royale players are experiencing disappointed, and it's not due to recent virtual events. The game's current limited-time event, that introduces a Simpsons-themed map, also unveiled a brand-new feature known as pets. It's impossible to ignore that the new companions are adorable. However, the associated costs have made many fans shocked at this developer's attempts to monetize nearly every part of the game.

What Are Sidekicks?

Companions are essentially like digital creatures, but having a few drawbacks. Players can give them a name, and they will follow you during a game. They are indestructible, and you can pet them. Other players outside your squad cannot view sidekicks — and showing off one's companions is arguably half the enjoyment of having them. Sidekicks are able to be outfitted with costumes and emotes, but the controversy revolves around their looks. A pet's overall design can only be altered one time, after which that choice becomes final. Players can choose a sidekick's fur shade, accent hues, iris tones, pattern, and their build size.

A Costly Customization Mechanism

Should a player afterward choose that you want their pet to appear slightly altered, it's not possible to just further customize the appearance. You have to buy a new sidekick. Furthermore, these pets are not inexpensive. The majority of players are getting the Peels pet, since it is packaged in this season's battle pass. According to leaks, upcoming pets could be priced at from 1,000 to 1,500 V-Bucks; to put that in perspective, 1,000 V-Bucks is priced at $8.99 and 2,800 V-Bucks cost $22.99. You can rename a sidekick whenever you'd like.

Community Reaction and Comparisons

Most sidekicks haven't been officially released so far, meaning the pricing may well be adjusted. But regardless of whether the developer makes sidekicks cheaper, a lot of the frustration comes from the reality that gamers could need to pay for a single kind of pet multiple times. For some, the pricing scheme seems especially egregious considering the developer has already introduced pets that ride around as part of backpack accessories. Backpack pets lack a restriction on changes and can be seen by fellow players in the game. Back bling pets can't be named or use gestures, but other gamers are able to sometimes engage with them — which is better than being invisible altogether.

Lack of unique features and restricted interaction choices have many players experiencing underwhelmed. For instance, why is it not possible to you, such as, play fetch with your fancy fruit-themed pet? Some note that companions sometimes fail to stay close with the user if a match is moving quickly, or mention that the banana pet occupies two spots in the reward system — which reinforces the notion that the company is pressuring players for revenue. Profit-driven is a word that's appearing frequently in these discussions, with a number of comparing sidekick monetization to similar intense pricing schemes in titles like popular sports games. Additionally, it doesn't help that some pets are expected to be more expensive than equivalent outfit counterparts.

"We urge you to do not buy Companion Pets," urges a popular community post that advises fellow players to proverbially vote with their wallets.

"We understand they're cute," the post continues, "I know they are fun. I know we have all been anticipating them. However the greed on display is disgusting and must not be rewarded."

The Bigger Picture of Virtual Spending

Over the past few years, the game's events and collaborations have grown in scale and ambition, yet the no-cost-to-start title still needs to earn income. As such, the sheer quantity of items users are able to currently purchase has become nearly excessive. Beyond basics like back accessories, deployment tools, harvesting tools, and emotes, you could potentially use cash on shoes, songs, instruments, building blocks, cars, tires, vehicle drift colors, seasonal rewards, and a membership. Sidekicks do not just require payment, and also bring in a host of new monetization avenues for the developer. It is likely, users will soon be in a position to spend for items like pet appearances, outfits, emotes, and further interaction options.

All of such customization items are completely optional and unneeded to have fun with the experience, but gear can nonetheless affect your social interactions. Younger players, for example, sometimes encounter bullying for not wearing flashy sufficiently cool outfits. A comparable situation also transpired when the company launched brand-name kicks, which may be priced from 600 to 1,000 V-Bucks. That footwear pricing scheme was not well received as well, and a few players promised that they'd avoid fall prey to the temptation at the time. But in the end, buying footwear grew normalized. Today, sidekicks are further testing the boundaries of how much a player might be prepared to spend to be distinctive within the crowd.

What is Ahead for Sidekicks?

Pets are still a fairly recent feature, and they're part of a game that changes frequently. Some fans are reporting that they've received a survey that gauges how the community think about sidekick mechanics and monetization, which could potentially mean that the developer's strategy are still fluid. Yet if the game shoes are any indication, companions probably won't get cheaper overall — there will just be a wider selection of costs to choose from.

After all, where some players are expressing anger at the game item costs, different players are feeling only joy for their battle royale friends.