We all know that there is absolutely no point in playing online without being the most stylish player to drop in the game. Maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but the point is that cosmetic in-game items are so popular they already account to most of the gaming industry's revenue. IRL money means virtual swagger.
Throughout 2018, Fortnite made nearly $2.4 billion of revenue, with over one billion being made by the sale of cosmetic in-game items. Ranging from weapons to character skins, the cosmetic aspects of free-to-play games is what keeps them profitable in the first place. The trend is on the rise, meaning most online games are becoming free-to-play, offering a new monetization model to developers.
Studios employ designers that work exclusively on creating skins for characters, based on community demand, popular culture and holidays. This holiday season I put together a list of some of the best and worst festive designs that I have found throughout the year, in games that I have invested a decent amount of time. We are analyzing League of Legends, Overwatch, SMITE, Apex Legends and skin-billionaire Fortnite.
This year, the Snowdown Showdown features four lovely sweet treats: Sugar Rush Braum, Evelynn, Ziggs and Zilean. Although the theme is slightly less Christmassy, the Candyland vibe still brings in some of the gingerbread house vibes. These fall right in my "best" list.
Now let's get to possibly the worst League of Legends skin ever made - not just in the holiday theme. "An elf renowned for his unflinching happiness in all things, some people once believed that under Teemo's merry exterior lay the heart of a killer". Well, if I had gotten a hat that made me look like I had young Justin Bieber's hair, I'd probably be salty.
Overwatch has hit and missed on many character skins, specially in the holiday season. Their Winter Wonderland event happens every end of the year. Last yearn Figure Skater Symmetra absolutely won my heart. Her shimmery dress has such a gorgeous color. We can't say every character has gotten as cool of an outfit, unfortunately.
This year, Blizzard dropped seven new skins during their Winter Wonderland event, and regretfully, one of them was The Joker himself. Moira not only had a big nerf on her healing spray, but her visual also got clowned. I wonder if DC will take the content down.
Fortnite Winterfest started just yesterday, meaning the Winter Cabin is back. A new present will be available for its players to unwrap for each day, including skins, pickaxes, gliders, emotes and more. The Nutcracker set is definitely one of my favorites, but in all honesty, nothing can beat a good Christmas tree suit.
Fortnite has plenty of strange items, but the glazed ham pickaze was a little bit too strange even for me - and trust me, I have run around the island with a full banana suit many times. The whole "Doggo" set is pretty nightmarish. The antropomorphic Pug doesn't help either. Sorry, Puggo, you're the worst ever.
Apex Legends fans have already voiced their opinions on the game's cosmetic items several times, stating one common denominator: They are boring. The skins have slight palette swaps for the most part, however, it is visible that the art team attempted to create something along the lines of what the community wanted for the Holo-Day bash, with little success. When skins cost as much as an entire game - they go for about $18, it is hard to justify buying them.
Have you ever heard of Smite? Some people still play it. I do. Seriously, it's a very underrated MOBA. I do have to admit that never ever I have purchased a Smite skin. Not that they are not absolutely lovely for the most part, or that I haven't spent countless hours in the game, but the lootbox system is blatantly dishonest, and buying skins by themselves costs some serious cash. Usually I have a great argument as in why an aspect of a game - in this case, skins. Ratatiskr, the Norse messenger squirrel with a 43.53% winrate is just very annoying, so any skins he gets will always make the cut for my least favorite skins.
To every single one of you that has read my articles, watched any of my interviews or simply interacted with me through InvenGlobal, I wish you a very happy holiday season! Buy your skins wisely!
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