Lost Ark ‘Normalizes’ Founder’s Pack Prices In Response To Regional Pricing Exploit
While Lost Ark will be free-to-play when it launches in the west this fall, Amazon Game Studios is also offering Founder’s Packs which include guaranteed access to beta tests and a three-day head start along with one month of premium subscription, exclusive perks, in-game currency, and other in-game goodies. These come in three tiers: Silver, Gold, and Platinum, and are priced at $24.99, $49.99, and $99.99, respectively.
A few enterprising players, however, have found out that the price of these packs are lower outside of Europe and the US and created dummy accounts to exploit regional pricing and resell their keys. Unfortunately, Amazon says that, since in-game currency is included in the packs, it could ruin the game’s economy even before the game’s official launch. In response, the studio has decided to “normalize” Founder’s Packs to one global price and added a new Bronze tier to give would-be players a cheaper entry-level option.
“Since the Lost Ark Founder’s Packs have been available for purchase, we have seen evidence of people exploiting regional pricing through the use of alt accounts,” said Amazon. “Unfortunately, this behavior compromises the game economy for everyone as in-game currency is included in the Platinum, Gold and Silver Founder’s Packs. This hurts all players.”
“To address this exploit, we have normalized the price of the Founder’s Packs to one global price (converted into regional currencies). We understand there are players that live in countries where regional pricing is important, especially for entry level participation, so we are now offering a new Bronze Founder’s Pack to give more purchase options to our players in all territories. The Bronze Founder’s Pack does not include in-game currency,” the studio said.
The Bronze pack also comes with access to the beta test, a three-day head start, an exclusive title, a mini-pet, and a month-long premium subscription. Details can be found on the Lost Ark official site.
