For some time now, Rocket League developer Psyonix has been promising to replace their loot crates with a new Blueprint system that would take all randomness out of acquiring cosmetics. Previously, you could look inside a loot box to see what items it contained, then buy and use a key to unlock one of those items, selected at random. Blueprints are much more straightforward, as you simply choose the cosmetic item you want and buy it directly with credits. Sounds like a vast improvement, right? Well, not so fast – the new Blueprints system launched yesterday, and the prices are kind of ridiculous.

　　Some individual items will set you back more than 2000 credits – here’s a single decal for 2200 credits, and a set of wheels for 2300 credits. Credits are a premium currency, with players being able to purchase bundles of 500 credits for $5, 1,100 for $10, 3000 for $25. So, yes, if you were starting from zero, you’d need to spend a whopping $25 to get that one set of 2300 credit wheels. Needless to say, fans are not exactly impressed with this gouging – you can find plenty of (very justified) complaining and examples of ridiculous pricing on the official Rocket League subreddit.

　　As it stands, the Blueprint system is significantly more exploitative that the old loot crate approach. Yes, the loot crates had an element of randomness to them, but there was a flat price of 100 credits for keys needed to unlock items. In other words, for the absurd amount Psyonix is asking you to spend on those 2300 credit rims, you could’ve bought 23 keys that would get you 23 items. Sure, they’d be semi-randomized, but 23 items is a hell of a lot better than one any way you cut it. To add insult to injury, players can’t even use their leftover keys – they’ve all been transferred into credits, at a rate of 100 per key.

　　Psyonix has yet to respond to fan complaints about Blueprint pricing, but hopefully they do soon. It’s really a shame, because the studio has done a great job of nurturing the Rocket League community for years now. This uncharacteristically miserly move (right before Christmas, no less) is not a good look.

　　Rocket League is available now on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.